I Am Not a Victim
by Relena Mishima
Summary: The 74th Hunger Games take an odd turn when something unexpected happens: an alliance no one saw coming. This seemingly simple change does far more than provide an exciting twist for the audience; it changes everything that comes afterward.
1. Treed

**Disclaimer:** I don't own The Hunger Games and am making no money from this.

This story, like most Hunger Games stories I've read will be told from various points of view. As normal, I'll note when they change.

**Katniss**

So it's come to this; stuck in a stupid tree, with all the world watching, a pack of killers and the boy who supposedly loves me keeping me here. That's the part that irks me the most, really. Not that the Career pack found me, not that the Gamemakers turned my big Girl on Fire theme back on me, not even that so early in the Games and I'm already in big trouble, it's that Peeta, who supposedly loves me, is with them.

If this was his plan then what the heck was his declaration of love for? Just some scheme to get attention and sponsors? I couldn't believe it when I heard his interview; I still don't know what to make of it. We barely know each other. How can he love me? And even if he does, what was he thinking just announcing it like that? We were on the train together, lived together on the 12th floor, he had days to tell me. So why not then? He couldn't just tell me in private on the train or when we were talking on the roof before the games?

No, that would have been too easy. He had to do it on national television, a required broadcast with all of Panem watching. He couldn't even look me in the eye when he said it; I was backstage. I suppose it's a good thing I wasn't on camera; the look on my face can't have been pretty.

But of course he couldn't tell me in private. This is all some scheme Haymitch dreamed up. Maybe Peeta does have some sort of weird attraction for me, but this was all part of a play for the crowd, and what I wanted really didn't matter for that. Peeta must know I want no part of any sort of relationship. It's nothing personal, Peeta's a nice enough guy and all, and I _do_ owe him, but I'm not interested in a relationship with anyone. There's just too many other things for me to worry about in my life. Things like Prim and my mother putting food on the table so my family doesn't starve to death, making sure Gale has enough food to put on his family's table, making sure we have enough game to trade for things we can't get in the woods, making sure we keep the Peacekeepers happy so they ignore the fact that our hunting is technically a death penalty offense. Oh yeah, and the whole fight to the death I'm stuck in. I mean really, what was Peeta thinking? I suppose I'll never know, especially considering it doesn't look like I'll live much longer.

And even if he really does somehow love me, how's he show it? By joining the stupid Career pack; that group of homicidal maniacs. Five of them camped out beneath me, and with Peeta it's a half dozen. If anyone had told me before the games he'd join them I'd have called them a dirty liar, but that first night of the Games I saw it for myself. The Career pack, and helping them track me down was Peeta Mellark. I just could not believe it; I darned near fell out of my tree when I saw him. Things like are why it's a smart idea to tie yourself in when you plan to sleep in trees.

The Games are mandatory viewing; I've seen more than my share of death and misery in them; everyone has. As if the misery and death that's everyday life in District 12 isn't enough. I knew I'd get an even closer view of death in here.

The first night I saw another tribute's fire just a hundred yards or so from my tree I knew what was coming; I knew what the Careers would be doing. And sure enough, they delivered. It was too far away to see exactly what happened, all I heard was the poor tribute's screams and the Career's laughs, but I could use my imagination. In fact, hearing all that I couldn't help but imagine it.

But the sounds I heard next were far worse: footsteps. And loud footsteps at that. There's only one group that walks these woods with impunity. It must be nice to not have to worry about being quiet. A whole big pack of alpha predators at work, gladly letting others hear them and despair. And while the screams of that poor girl are a sure cause for nightmares, those footsteps coming closer could be a cause for my death.

So I do all I can: I sit quietly in the dark, hoping no one looks up. Just sit in silence and pretend you're a part of the tree, Katniss. There's a lot of forest out here; they could go anywhere. And even if they come near me, they have no reason to look up. Besides, it's dark and my clothes are reasonably camouflaged. There's no way they should be able to find me. I tell myself that, and of course I'm proven wrong. Way to jinx it, Katniss.

They don't just walk near me, for that matter they don't even walk towards my tree. They actually stop right at the base of it and start talking. Actually talking. Of all the places in the woods to talk, they decide to strike up a conversation directly under me.

"Did you see the look on her face? Oh, please don't kill me!" the blonde female from District 1 mocks. Glimmer I think her name is. I thought she was just there for sex appeal? You know, look pretty and get sponsors? She has to mock the poor dead girl too? I mean yeah, sure lighting a fire was stupid; anyone with the knowledge to make fire should have the common sense to know not to. All it does it act as a nice beacon to attract the Career pack. And sure I might have even thought a few bad things about the girl, but at least I had the decency to not say them out loud!

Glimmer and the brutish Cato from District 2 look back the way they came as the rest of the pack saunters pas, not a care in the world: Clove from 2, Marvel from 1 (I guess they left that girl from 4 to guard their supplies) and then Peeta comes along. I had no idea he was with them and I can't help but make a surprised noise. For a second I'm terrified they'll have heard my gasp, but after several long seconds it seems not. I guess Careers aren't observant hunters, more like brutish killing machines. They aren't even looking for more tributes in face. Glimmer seems more interested in asking Cato why they don't just kill Peeta now.

"Because he can lead us to _her_." is the response. Wonderful, not only is the guy who made a weird declaration of love for me working with the people trying to kill me, he's being played for a fool while doing it. As if I needed more proof that relationships were headaches I didn't need.

This all might be bad for my nerves and opinions of relationships, but that's the extent of my bad luck for the night; the Careers, along with their new District 12 recruit move on. I manage to eventually calm down and get some sleep, and when morning rolls around I climb down and continue on my way. I definitely don't want to go the same direction as the careers went, so I decide to head towards the edge of the arena. It gets me away from most of the other tributes and once I get there I'll have something to put my back against.

Once I'm back on the ground travel is easy enough, actually; these woods are close enough to the ones back in District 12 that they feel familiar. I know I can't get complacent or let my guard down, but this is so close to what I know I have a definite advantage. I'm able to make good time throughout the day, managing to stay fairly quiet (not like Gale, but still I'm a lot better than the Careers were). I even manage to find water. But I've seen enough of the Games on TV to know I have good cause to be worried.

Things are going my way, and that never lasts. Even worse, all I've done all day long is walk, which means I've been boring. I haven't heard any cannons, which means no deaths, which probably means boredom for the audience. Bored audiences make for grumpy Gamemakers, and that's very bad for tributes.

I keep looking around as the day drags on; more and more I search for danger. In the trees, in the bushes, in the air, under the ground, somewhere there's danger out there and I have to find it. The fact I can't feel it just makes me more nervous. At least danger you see coming you have a chance against.

By late afternoon I'm absolutely sure something bad is about to happen. I can't see any threats, but the feel of them in the air is almost crushing. And the worst part is I can't do a thing about it; not to prevent it, and not to deal with it if it does happen. The only weapon I managed to get is a knife that girl Clove threw at me at the bloodbath. I was lucky; it put a hole in my pack rather than me.

A single knife isn't much at all. In the woods of 12 it might be enough, but in the Games, a place filled with mutts and other tributes it feels like it might as well be a sharpened stick. I'd _really_ prefer to have a bow, but that's in Glimmer's hands, so all I can do is tie myself up in another tree and hope. The sun is setting and there's nothing else I can do. Maybe the Gamemakers will pick on someone else tonight and I won't have to run for my life. Stupid Katniss, like an idiot I thought that and jinxed myself.

I wake up to a wall of fire headed for me. Not bothering with any sort of witty remark (I usually have Gale for that) I frantically untie myself from the tree, plunge get down from my branch, running for my life the moment my feet touch the forest floor. I don't know where I'm going and frankly, I could care less. For now away from the fire is a plenty good direction for me.

It feels like I've been running forever, but the TV audience back home has probably seen less than a minute of my frantic sprint; it's long enough for me to start thinking straight though. Animals have better sense than people, and in a natural (or not so natural) disaster they tend to know where to run. I trust in their instincts and follow the first small animals I see. Unfortunately, this is only a temporary measure; they're far faster than I am, quickly leaving me behind. I have to settle for trying to keep going in the same direction.

I keep running, but I haven't managed to open up any sort of gap on the still advancing fire. There's a sudden explosion off to my right; a burning tree falls in my path. I try to run around it, only to hear another explosion, to my left this time; another tree falls and blocks my path to freedom. By now I've been inhaling enough smoke that I'm coughing and wheezing, lightheaded and my eyes are tearing up so much I can barely see; all I can do is rely on pure instinct and hope it's good enough. Maybe my miserable luck will change long enough to not die here. If I have to die make it anything but fire. Please…

Whether through some unexpected bit of luck, or just Gamemakers deciding I'd be more entertaining left alive, I start to see open forest through my tears; just a bit more and I'll be there. But of course that'd be too easy; dramatic TV demands more. A loud whistling noise is my only warning of a fireball flying right at me. Again, reflexes, this time in the form of a quick roll to my left is all that saves my life. In the following few seconds come two more fireballs and two more dodges.

Sure, why not? Lets shoot fireballs at Katniss! That sounds fun, doesn't it? I swear, I'm starting to think Gale's rants on these people were too kind hearted. But of course no anti Capitol thoughts go unpunished, and that one makes me just slow enough dodging that the outside of my right leg gets caught by the fireball. God it hurts! It probably looks even worse than it feels, but I can't afford to stop and look at it now. I let my mind wander once and it cost me, I can't afford to do it again. All I can do is keep running and hope when all is said and done I'm not hurt too badly.

I tear through the forest blindly. It's been a minute or two since anything was shot at me or any burning things were dropped on or near me, but I don't care; I just want to be as far away from that place as possible, and right now forward and downhill seems like as good a direction as any. Turns out to be better than most; my lucky direction even; I see a stream just up ahead. Exactly what I need for this burn and to rinse my eyes out.

I run headlong into the stream, stopping when I'm about knee deep to sit (well, collapse really) and try to catch my breath. Of course this means I'm more hacking and wheezing than anything, but if it gets fresh air into my lungs and smoke and ash out, I'll take it.

The cool water feels nice on my legs. Burns are the worst; I've always hated them. Cuts scrapes, even real lacerations, I'll take any of those before a burn. Burns hurt, burns blister, and I don't know how to treat them; Prim's better at this than me. I catch myself before my mind can manage to find the words 'I wish she was here.' After all, she should be; I came in her place. This is the last place in the world I want her to be.

With no healer at hand I just have to suck it up; whatever's happened to me already's happened, not looking at it won't change anything. I take my knife and carefully cut away the section of my pants over the burn. I'm lucky; nothing really bad like flesh and fabric being melted together happened. When I look at the burn itself, I'm actually even luckier than that. It's red and angry looking and starting to blister, but all of me is there; no missing flesh, no big charred section. It still hurts, don't get me wrong, but at least I'm all there and I shouldn't be slowed down too badly, which as it turns out is a good thing. I hear people coming. A lot of them. There's only one big group that doesn't care about making noise in this arena.

I get up and scramble to shore, hoping to make the woods before they see me, but it doesn't go quite how I hoped. Guess I used up whatever lucky I had not being charred. Oh well, like I said burns are the worst, so I'll take it.

It looks like the Careers got a closer look at the fire than they probably would have liked too; judging from how they're coughing and breathing rough they got their share of smoke same as me. Unfortunately they're still bigger than me, there's more of them than me and they train for this, which probably means faster than me. So I do the first thing that comes to mind: I climb.

I pick the first big tree I can find and climb for my life. By the time the Careers catch up I'm well up into the tree, thirty or forty feet off the ground I'd say.

"Well hello there!" Cato taunts from the below. "What have we here?"

"Oh, hiya!" I answer with a friendly wave. They've already found me and plan to kill me, no way will I give them the satisfaction of seeing me scarred too.

"You look lost up there. Why not come on down, we'll make sure you get to where you need to be."

Yeah right. This idiot thinks he's going to talk me down? Not happening. "No thanks, I'm fine up here. Actually, it's pretty nice, some genuine fresh air up here." I guess my banter isn't going over so well, because by now that blonde girl Glimmer's aiming an arrow at me. She didn't look like she was anything special with a bow in training so maybe I still have a bit of luck coming my way.

She fires, and I watch the arrow flying higher and higher, like it's in that weird slow motion Capitolites do on broadcasts to make it needlessly more dramatic. Come on, miss! Miss! And… Yes! The girl misses by quite a few feet, the arrow stuck in the tree above me. I quickly climb higher and pull it out, waving down to them with a grin. "Thanks! I appreciate the free stuff!"

The Careers don't look happy at all. Maybe they think I was a bit insincere in my thanks? Glimmer lines up another shot, but Cato stops her and instead starts climbing. This is even easier for me to deal with than inaccurate arrows. Cato's huge, like Gale sort of huge. Me? I'm a girl, and small for a girl at that; climbing higher is a no brainer. Sooner or later he'll come a branch that can't hold him, but managed my weight just fine.

It turns out I don't have to wait for Cato to get particularly high in the tree. He grabs a branch way too small to hold him and falls down ten feet onto his butt. Seriously, they don't climb trees in 2? This should have been easy until he was an awful lot higher than me. Oh well, his loss!

Cato gets up plenty ticked off, but not hurt. Shame he didn't break his neck, but at this point, I'll take what I can get. Besides, it's not often you see one of the favorites in the Games look that stupid. I hope everyone watching is having a good laugh at how stupid he looked falling on his butt.

"Forget it, she's not going anywhere. Let's just wait her out." Peeta suggests.

"Fine. Grab some wood and make a fire." Cato barks back. At least they're making a fire in their camp rather than setting my tree on fire. Oops! Gotta be careful. Thinking things has been making them happen way too often lately. Guess I'll have to trust in my luck (Or Cato's lack of creativity) to keep me safe.

This time, my luck (or Cato's lack of creativity) carries the day, and my tree remains safely unburnt and I settle in for the night. Well, technically it's still afternoon; the sun hasn't set yet. But since I'm not going anywhere there's not a lot else I can do.

I'm not far into my evening of trying not to think too much of home or otherwise let my mind wander to unhelpful places when I hear something coming from the next tree over. It sounds like a low, quiet whistle; the sort of thing you'd do to get someone's attention. I look into the foliage and sure enough, that's exactly what it is. That tiny little girl from District 11 is there; Rue I think her name is. Once she sees she has my attention she points up.

It doesn't take me long to find what she was point to: a tracker jacker nest in one of the branches above me. Tracker jackers are nasty creations of the Capitol, who needlessly made wasps (already jerks if you ask me) bigger, more aggressive and made their venom truly evil. As in it makes you hallucinate, and if you're stung too many times, it just flat out kills you.

Tracker jackers were one of their ways of fighting the rebels back 74 years ago. There's no nest left around the Capitol, of course, but we have plenty in the districts. I've seen my mom and Prim treat the stings before. They're definitely not the sort of thing I want, but on the other hand I wouldn't mind if the Careers got them. And the way the nest is hanging from a thin branch and it looks like the smoke from that big fire has the tracker jackers pretty calm, maybe I can arrange just that. The only question is how to do it without them noticing. And that's when the Gamemakers give me an actual bit of help.

The Capitol anthem starts playing, with their logo displayed on the artificial sky of the arena. I don't have time to waste, so I quickly climb up to the nest and start sawing the branch. Fortunately that little sadist Clove threw a utility knife at me, not a throwing knife, so it has a saw back on the reverse side. The branch isn't thick, but I'm short on time. What, the stupid Careers couldn't kill more people to give me the time to finish?

When the daily death count ends the branch is still there. I made it more than halfway through, but it's not enough; I'll have to finish later. Maybe before dawn I can be quiet enough to not wake the Careers or those stupid bugs up. For now I climb down and settle in for the night. Amazingly, when I get back to the branch I'm calling home tonight, I find more good news: a parachute. Wow, I'm not sure I can remember a tributes from District 12 ever getting one of these.. I open it and inside is exactly what I need (No not one of those chainsaw things I saw on the Capitol TV) It's medicine, and considering I only have one real injury it's not hard to guess what it's for. I scoop out a healthy portion with my fingers and as soon as it touches my burnt calf the pain is gone. I have to hand it to the Capitol, they may be miserable sadists everyone in the districts hates, but they do know how to make good medicine.

I tie myself into my tree try to rest. Hopefully the Careers aren't attentive about keeping watch, especially around dawn. Just a bit more luck and I can still survive this.

**Peeta**

I knew the moment I was reaped my chances of coming home alive were pretty much zero. I'm not an idiot, I know what these games are like. And people like me don't do well in them. I just don't like hurting people. Maybe if I took more after my mom…

But just because I didn't want to hurt people didn't mean I would be useless here. Oh, I'm sure if my back was against the wall I'd fight back; I'd hurt people, I'd kill them. But I don't want to be that person, so instead while I was still in the Capitol I came up with a plan. And that plan was all about the girl I love: Katniss Everdeen.

I decided that before I died (Since, well let's face it, that's what's going to happen) I'd help her out all I can; I'd make sure she was the one to go home alive. I talked to Haymitch about it and we came up with the public declaration of love during the interviews. Katniss didn't like it, but it did what it had to do; we were all anyone could talk about, as Effie put it. And that talk would translate into sponsor money, both for her and I, but I made Haymitch promise every dime would go to Katniss.

But as good as getting sponsor money was, I knew I could do more, so I teamed up with the Careers. I knew Katniss and Haymitch wouldn't like this since it could and probably eventually will get me killed, so I didn't tell them. Honestly, they'd have been right: it almost did get me killed just minutes into the Games.

Cato threatened and intimidated plenty before I convinced him I could help hunt down Katniss. Her score did make her the biggest threat to them, and since they obviously thought they could kill me any time, the let me join their alliance. I know they think they're using me, probably having a good laugh at how weak and pathetic my love for Katniss is, but the joke's on them. I've been lying through my teeth the whole time I've been with them.

I'm no expert on wood lore and hunting and whatever else Katniss knows, but thankfully I don't have to be. She and Gale are low key about what they do, but, well, I've loved Katniss a long time so, well, to be honest, I watch her. A lot. I think the Capitolite term is 'stalkerish', but so what? I love her. What's so wrong about watching the girl you love?

As it turns out watching Katniss and making sure I hear as much about her as I can means I see and hear a lot about Gale as well. I know they're close, but in the woods their skill sets are different. So I've been feeding the careers all the info I have on Gale and telling them it's what Katniss can do. I've heard enough details to be plenty believable. I guess it helps I have an honest face too.

My plan's actually been working. They've got no idea Glimmer's carrying around the weapon Katniss needs. Instead they're looking for snares and traps and that sort of thing, thinking stray bits of rope on the ground are their biggest threats. I bet they never even imagined Katniss could even climb a tree.

When we saw Katniss in that stream, though, it all broke down. It doesn't matter what sort of traps you think someone might have waiting for you when you see them a few dozen yards away, running for their life. Definitely not the reunion I hoped for.

When Glimmer shot at Katniss all I could do is hold my breath. When Cato started climbing after her I broke out in a cold sweat. I don't know what I would have done if they'd gotten her. Die I guess, since the careers would be out of reasons to keep me alive.

Unfortunately no matter how clever I thought my plan was, I didn't have anything in it for _this_. The best I could do was stall and suggest we make camp. At least it buys a night for me to think of something, or hope that somehow Katniss does. As the hours wear on and the evening turns to the dead of night I'm getting more and more worried. I might have been the guy with the big plan so far, but I'm drawing a blank now that it really counts. Maybe in the few remaining hours I'll have some brilliant inspiration, but right now, laying on my back staring up into the tree she's stuck in, I think I might have to depend on her for something to get her out of that tree Because I've got nothing.

**Katniss**

The sky is just starting to get light when something wakes me up. I'm not sure what it could be. This tree isn't that uncomfortable as trees go, and after the past two nights I'm certainly used to sleeping in them. But whatever it was, the timing isn't terrible. It's about the right time to finish cutting that tracker jacker nest down.

Ouch! What was that? I was about to look down and see if the Careers were asleep when something hit me. I look around and what do I see? Glimmer standing at the base of my tree throwing acorns at me. Really? Trapping me here isn't enough, the girl has to annoy me with acorns too?

I give her the best dirty look I can muster and she just puts a finger to her lips telling me to be quiet and gestures for me to come down. Seriously? This is her master plan to get me out of the tree? I know she probably can get any male to do whatever she wants looking the way she does, but come on! Does she really think this lame brained plan will work?

She rolls her eyes at me and gestures harder. Yeah, right, wave your arms harder, that'll work. Seeing I'm not convinced she takes out her bow and waves it above her head. Great. Now she's taunting me. I wish I could have just slept in.

But before I can start calling her names in my head (and maybe out loud), she does the absolute last thing I ever expected her to do: she throws the bow up at me. She's obviously not trying to use it as a weapon, she throws it with a perfect gentle arc right to my waiting hand.

Ok, now I'm officially confused. Armed, but confused. I stare at the bow in my hands for a few seconds before looking down at the (probably insane) Career below me. She flashes me a smile and gestures for me to come down again. The girl may be insane, but she certainly has my attention. Maybe it's a trap, but if it is it's a bad one; I still have that arrow she shot at me last night.

I stare at her for a bit, considering my options. One way or another I have to get out of this tree, and my current plan to drop a tracker jacker nest on the Careers unnoticed is obviously out. I think about it, and I can't come up with any sort of plan B, so, I decide to take my chances with Glimmer. If it's a trap, at least I have one arrow to take her with me.

I quickly and quietly untie myself from the tree, nock my lone arrow and start making my way down. I stop about ten feet off the ground and give Glimmer a look that Gale would understand to mean _Ok, now what?_

Glimmer's no Gale, but she seems to get the gist at least. She puts a finger to her lips to tell me to stay quiet (duh!) and points away from the Career camp. I'm not sure what she means at first, but when she starts walking in that direction I figure it out; she's leading me out of here. I drop to the ground, and with just a quick look to make sure the rest of the Careers are still asleep I set out after her.

**Author's Notes:**

Well, there it is, chapter one. I hope everyone enjoyed it. Honestly, it's the first time I've written something first person like that, and I hope the somewhat stream of consciousness style made sense.

Thanks a lot to Pinklove21 for all her help, advice, suggestions, edits and in general hand holding, and thanks to my friend JB for his help as well.. You've both been great, I really appreciate everything.

As always, comments, questions and reviews are welcome, and thanks for reading!


	2. Implausible Allies

**Disclaimer:** I don't own The Hunger Games and am making no money from this.

This story, like most Hunger Games stories I've read will be told from various points of view. As normal, I'll note when they change.

**Katniss**

I follow Glimmer through the woods, keeping my arrow nocked and ready to put into the girl's back. She glances back occasionally to make sure I'm still following, but if she notices the rather obvious weapon I have ready to kill her with, she doesn't say anything. Finally, after a half hour or so of walking she stops and turns to me.

"All right, we should be far enough away now." she announces.

"For what?" I question, still keeping me weapon ready.

"To talk." She says it like it's the most obvious thing in the world. I guess to her it is. I still think she's not right in the head though.

"Fine, so talk."

Glimmer flashes me a smile in response. I think it's meant to be friendly or disarming, but from a girl I have a weapon pointed at it just strikes me as weird. "It's simple. I want to team up." I stare at her blankly. She wants to team up? With me? The girl who was treed less than an hour ago? And she wants to ditch the Career pack to do it? I don't get it. Just yesterday I was running for my life from her allies, now somehow joining me is an upgrade? "Oh, and you're welcome, by the way." she adds with a cocky grin.

Wait, what? Is she serious? She certainly looks serious. She got me out of that tree and armed me; granted I only have one arrow, but still, I am technically armed. I mean one arrow for the one Career in front of me is hardly the worst odds I've ever seen.

There's so many questions in my head, I need to organize my thoughts and ask them in a calm, rational manner. "Wait… What?" Smooth Katniss. Real smooth.

Glimmer gives a roll of her eyes and a pained sigh. "Just like your interview I see. Ok, so where'd I lose you?"

"Uh, at the team up part."

"I mean team up. Ally. Join forces. Work together. You must have heard of the concept." She seems patient, but something in her tone sounds like she's making fun of me at the same time.

"I know what it means!"

"Then why ask?" Now I'm sure she's making fun of me.

"Because it makes no sense!" I answer in a huff.

"Ah. I thought that's what you might mean."

"Then why not just answer the question?" I ask in frustration.

"Because you're just too much fun to tease." Glimmer smiles at me again. Ok, I've decided she's not just crazy, she's annoying too.

"You know I'm still holding a weapon, right?"

"Oh please, you aren't going to shoot me." Glimmer answers with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"And how are you so sure of that? Don't think I have what it takes to kill or something?" Crazy and annoying yes, but is she stupidly suicidal too?

"Oh, I think you can kill; I wouldn't want to team up otherwise. It's just that you won't kill me right now."

"Are you sure?" I ask in an even tone.

"Of course I am. I'm betting my life on it, aren't I? " She still has that playful tone, like this is just some game to her or something.

"Confident, aren't you?"

"After what I wore to the interviews did you really have any doubts?" Ok, she has a point there. It was this translucent gold thing. Well, translucent might be generous; you could see right through the thing. The only way _anything_ was covered was because the thing (I hesitate to call something with so little fabric a dress) was layered strategically to cover up the really bad parts. Apparently layer enough translucent layers and they aren't see through anymore. And on top of that I didn't think you could even wear a dress so short and so low cut without getting arrested. If someone offered me a chance to get out of the Games right now in exchange for wearing it around District 12 for a day I'd laugh in their face and take my chances here.

"So what, you just aren't afraid to die or think you can't be killed or something like that? Too beautiful to die maybe?"

"No, I'm not an idiot." Well, that's one girl's opinion at least. "I know I can die, same as anyone else; I just don't think you'll kill me right this minute. I figure you're too curious about my offer. Also, you owe me for getting you out of that tree. Now maybe that matters to you, maybe not, but I either way you're going to hear me out and then either agree or we can go our separate ways both alive and well."

Ok, I'm starting to think this girl isn't the dumb blonde she looks like. Well, maybe that's going a bit far. It could be that she just had lucid moments now and then.

Maybe she's freakishly lucky at reading me or maybe there's actually something between her ears besides knowing all about slutty dresses and high heels. Either way, she's right. I do want to hear what she has to say. "Fine, so tell me this. Why would you want to ally with me? I met the Career alliance and had to run for my life. Doesn't seem like a smart move to me."

"How much have you watched the Games? Or better yet, how much have you watched the Career alliance in the Games you've watched?"

I shrug. "I dunno. Some I guess? It is required viewing and all."

"More like you've watched to see who can stop the big bad Careers I think."

I roll my eyes. "Yeah fine, whatever; I don't really like Careers. Nobody does in 12. So what's your point?"

"Well obviously I've watched the Games from the other side. And do you know what the single most dangerous moment in the Games is for a Career?"

I shrug again.

"The single most dangerous time is when the Career alliance breaks up. Sometimes it's friendly, but usually not; sometimes it's a free for all, sometimes it breaks into pairs, sometimes it breaks into a smaller alliance, maybe just a few who turn on the rest. But however it happens it's the first time in the Games you're up against people who are basically as skilled as you are and you don't have anyone at your back anymore. And worse yet, if you aren't ready for it you can find a knife in your back real fast."

"Gee, that's a darned shame." I reply in a deadpan. "So what part of this is relevant to me? "

"Simple. Just look at the numbers and threats. Roughly half gone in the bloodbath. If we'd gotten you with that whole tree thing, bread boy would have been next. After that the big guy from 11 is the only real threat left. That means either the alliance breaks up once we get him, or maybe even on the way there. And really, let's face it, even just two Careers would be more than a match for him, no matter how big he is." She pauses a bit, thinking (I think. It's hard to tell if that's a thing she does or not.) "And honestly, the alliance wasn't what I'd expected at all."

"What's that mean? Just what did you expect?" This is getting weird. She doesn't look the part at all, but it really sounds like she's thought this through. I suppose I shouldn't be totally shocked, Careers have an academy after all, of course they'd study old tape, analyze behavior and all that sort of thing. Really it's not that different from what I do in the woods. If you want to hunt, you have to know your prey and know the dangers you might come across.

"Ok, tell me this. What's your impression of the Careers here?" I'm not sure if she's answering my question with a question just to annoy me or if this is somehow her version of logically explaining it to me.

"I dunno." I shrug. "You're all bigger than me; you're all better trained than me; you all scored worse than me." There. She can sound all smart (maybe fake sounding smart?) but I can still rub in that to the so called experts none of them got ranked as high as me.

Glimmer giggles at that. "Ok, not quite what I was going for, but fair enough. Point is, I was hoping either Cato or Clove would be a bit more average. Either one alone is a lot to handle, but together it's a nightmare, and I was getting this vibe they had some district loyalty thing going, so it was looking like they'd team up when it came time to get rid of the rest of us Careers."

"Ok, but now you're out of the pack and I'm out of the tree. So what's that mean, more enemies for the Career Pack so they stay together longer?"

"Exactly." Glimmer confirms.

"And this matters to me why?"

"Besides the fact you're out of that tree you mean?" she asks, to which I nod. "Well it means they might still need bread boy; they can keep him around to try and find you, maybe use as a hostage when they do. That or if he's an early riser and isn't a total moron he can run for it when he sees the empty tree."

"So this was all just some scheme to shake things up." I frown.

"Oh no, I meant what I said earlier. I want to team up. For real." There's that smile again. Is she trying to be genuine? Maybe it's an act? She is a Career, I've seen them kill almost every single tribute 12 has sent to the Games. On the other hand she's not acting like a typical Career; Careers just plain don't talk to tributes from 12 like this.

I stare at Glimmer for a while. She's definitely not the dumb blonde she played on TV, but I still don't know for sure just what's in her head. This all could be some big plan that manages to wipe out a bunch of the Career alliance before I find a knife in my back. I'm not really sure how that plan would work, but this is way too weird to just take at face value.

Still, she did get me out of that tree and armed me, and if she's really serious about teaming up there's no doubt it'd up my odds of survival. I think I need to at least see exactly what the details of her little alliance plan are. "So just how long did you think we'd be allies anyway?"

"Until the end; you know, when it's just us."

"And then what, we kill each other?"

"Well I figured we'd shake hands, say some sort of quotable thing or another first. Unless you want to hug. Hmm, you don't look like a hugger to me, but you never know…"

I roll my eyes. She keeps doing that, alternating between serious and this insistence with messing with me. I have no idea why and the whole thing irks me. I don't know if she's doing it for fun, to distract me or what. But that aside, she might have a point. And even if she got me out of that tree and gave me a bow there's still no way I trust her. After all, she's still a Career, even if she is a weird Career. But Career or not, the odds say I'm safer with a partner than alone. And at least this way I can watch and actually see the danger if she does betray me. "Deal. But just so you know you've got a long way to go before I trust you."

Glimmer smiles at me (it looks actually genuine, not cocky or mocking. I have no idea if that should worry me or not.) "Great, now let's get going to the Cornucopia."

"What? Are you nuts? That's the Careers home base!" Ok, there goes some of that trust. She's either an idiot or trying to lead me into an obvious trap. Too bad, I was actually starting to think (or was that hope?) the girl may have some brains.

"Yes, it is. But I'm a Career too, and right now the main pack is asleep under that tree. So if we hurry, we can get to the Cornucopia and away before the guard we left knows I'm not a loyal little girl."

"What's at the Cornucopia we need so bad anyway?"

"Weapons." Glimmer states and holds out the quiver of arrows to match the bow she gave me earlier. "I didn't bring any extras." Darn, she's right; I'm teamed up with an unarmed Career.

I take the quiver and, sling it across my back. It feels good to finally be properly armed; exactly how I wanted to be since the start of the Games. "So was being unarmed part of your master plan?"

"Well, to be honest I'm winging this whole thing." Glimmer answers sheepishly. "I actually didn't think of this plan until I was up for guard duty."

So much for feeling better.

**Gale**

I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it: My Catnip; teamed up with a Career. The girl may be a trained killer, but I'd be lying if I said a part of me wasn't glad that Katniss teamed up with someone other than _him_. At least here Catnip knows there's a danger and won't have some overdeveloped sense of sympathy or district loyalty clouding her judgment.

Watching Katniss in these Games has been one hell of an experience. At the reaping I seriously considered volunteering for Mellark. I know Catnip and I promised each other that if one of us was ever reaped the other would stay home to take care of both our families, but when I saw her up on that stage she looked like the one that needed protecting. Oh, she put on a brave enough face (Once I got Prim off her and my Catnip actually made it up to the stage) but I saw right through it. Guess it's lucky I was the only one. For all the angry and even jealous looks the Careers have given her, a look reserved for prey hasn't been one.

And she certainly got a lot of looks at the Tribute Parade. I've known her most of my life, spent practically every single day with her in the woods; after school on weekdays, then all day on weekends, we spent more time with each other than anyone else. But for all the time I've spent with her, I've never seen her look like she did that night.

District 12 is a simple place; the idea of a costume on fire without actually affecting someone is just plain not an idea we've ever had. Fire here is dangerous, deadly in fact. The district exists for the sake of coal. Coal and nothing else. It's everywhere in fact; either veins of it in the ground, or dust that coats the entire town. No matter where, fire here means death. In town all that dust would catch fire, spread across everything before anyone could do a thing. In the coal seam itself a fire could burn for decades, maybe centuries; the entire district would have to be abandoned.

Hell, those Capitol fuckers would just leave us to die and find some other slave labor to get them coal somewhere else. Somehow the big fancy Capitol firefighting gear never found its way to District 12. An oversight, I'm sure.

But the fire my Catnip wore wasn't anything like that; it wasn't some threat to all of us it was… radiant. I've heard people described as glowing, on their wedding day, when they're pregnant, when they've been having sex, but I don't think anyone had ever seen a girl glow like this. It's like she was my Catnip, but she was also some Capitol version of her at the same time. And for the first time I can remember, I saw something the Capitol had a hand in I didn't hate. (And they had a perfect record before that too.) Unfortunately Mellark had to go ruin it with that hand holding shit. Seriously, what the fuck was that? Didn't anyone tell him there's only one winner? So what's that all about?

The worst part was I couldn't say anything at the time. My family was over at the Everdeen's house watching the mandatory broadcast with them. Our families have been close for years, basically since Katniss and I got close our families just sort of followed. We're the providers for our households, and even though both our mothers are still alive, in a way we're also heads of our households too. Well, Katniss is at least, I only am until my mother decides I'm not. That woman can still scare me sometimes, no matter how big I am.

I watched the parade as long as I could, trying my best to offset my nausea at Mellark's crap with my delight at Catnip's brilliant glow, but when it came to the end of the parade I'd finally had enough. I made some lame excuse and went out to sit on the porch. It's not like I'm in the woods so I have to keep my emotions bottled up, but at least I can let it show on my face now.

Leave it to a townie to ruin something. Even in that god awful place Catnip found a way to shine, but he had to try and steal it; make it about him. I haven't gotten much farther in my mental rant (Or my thinking of nasty things to call Mellark) when Prim comes out and sits down next to me. She just sort of stares at a spot on the ground for a while before speaking. "It isn't real, you know." she states simply.

"She didn't exactly try to stop it."

"Because she was on TV; she knew it was all for show. But she didn't like it. She wanted to hit him, not hold his hand. You saw her face, you should know what she was thinking, Gale."

I sigh and finally look down at Prim. "Sometimes with her I have a hard time telling if I really see things, or just wish I did." It's been a worse and worse problem for the past year or so. A hazard of one sided love. I'm not even sure when it started. I'd always thought she was pretty, graceful with a bow, poetic even (yeah, bet you never thought you'd hear me use a word like that, did you?) And certainly I always wanted to be around her, especially in the woods; it just didn't feel normal if she wasn't there.

It wasn't that we had some wonderful heart to heart talks or any nonsense like that. Part of what's so great about her is that we can talk without saying a word. Every twitch of a facial muscle, every nod, every motion of the eyes, they all mean something, and we know it all perfectly. We've been able to talk like that for years, and we've both known when there's no need to say anything at all. Sometimes talking is just some fake filler for silence people can't handle. But Catnips never been like that. She just sort of has always known. I don't really know exactly when or how it happened, but one day it just was so obvious: a life without Katniss Everdeen wasn't worth living.

Prim puts her tiny hand over my huge one. It's kind of silly, but comforting none the less. "It's both. You want to see things, and you actually do. For once it's not all some lie or trick; It's just… you have to be patient with her."

"How are you so sure?"

"Um, Hello? You're talking to the Everdeen who actually has a clue about feelings. Trust me, Katniss will figure it out eventually. It's just she's really dense about this sort of thing. But give her time, she'll get it: the only guy she feels like that about, the only guy she ever will feel like that about it you." She gives me a few minutes to consider what she said before she adds more. "You should come inside. You already missed President Snow's speech, and I know that's your _favorite_ part." I just roll my eyes at her before heading back into the house.

**Glimmer**

So far this plan is actually working out ok, which is a miracle considering I made it up on the spot. Oh sure, all that stuff I told Katniss about the breakup of Career packs is true, but I hadn't come up with a plan for how to handle it. Ever since I got to the Capitol I knew it'd be a problem.

Marvel's an ok enough guy I suppose, but I knew when push came to shove I could handle him. I'd assumed District 2 would have one serious tribute, one lighter weight one, but just my luck it's two hardcore killers who each scored a 10. The District 4 kids weren't anything special (One even died in the bloodbath) but District 2 alone was a major problem, regardless of how weak or strong the rest were.

I don't know where I came up with this idea; maybe all the staring that love sick idiot Peeta was doing got me thinking. Seriously, I don't know who that kid thinks he's fooling. A stunt like that interview and then we're supposed to believe he's on our side? I don't think even Cato's that dumb. But when the time came I'm sure he'd have made a good hostage, I know Clove would have _loved_ that. Sadist bitch. I may be in this to win and know what it takes, but I'm not doing it for the sheer pleasure of the deed like she is.

It's odd what a contrast Katniss is from Clove. Both brunette, both like ranged weapons, both short, both have almost identical scores. But Katniss is actually… normal. Which to a girl who's been in an academy since she was 7 like means she's damned weird.

She seems almost incapable of deception; even a poker face is tough for her. When I fired that arrow up at her in the tree the look on her face was plain as day: the look of someone who can do a thing well watching it done poorly. Yeah, I'll admit it, I suck with a bow. As a Career I've learned to use basically every weapon there is, some a lot better than others, but I never much was into the ranged stuff; it just isn't my style at all. It's just so much more elegant and gratifying to fight face to face.

Just dumb luck the weapon I pick, my worst, happens to be Katniss' best. Even better is the fact she can hunt (or so she claims, and since I don't think she can pull off a lie, I believe her). I'm thinking what I did won't be popular with my mentor, and she may take it out on me in the form of no more parachutes, so I'm dependent on Katniss for food once what I'm carrying runs out.

It's a bit of an uneasy situation between Katniss and I; we both know these Games only end one way, and sooner or later (unless something bad happens first) we'll be enemies. But for now we're not focusing that far into the future. Instead the beginnings of trust are holding this weird little alliance together, but I'm not really sure how to build on that. Katniss doesn't seem to say much, and trust isn't really my thing to begin with, so I've got no idea where we go from here. Maybe over time it'll grow? Hopefully enough that we can work together, but not too much; it'll just make the end that much harder. But if it does come down to Katniss and I at least it'll be a fight worth having, not some pathetic slaughter; at least one fight in these Games can have some pride associated with it.

God, I really need to stop over thinking all this. After all these years it's so much easier for me to be around people you can't trust. Figure out when I need them, when they need me, see the angles, be ready for the attack and make sure I hit first.

I just plain need to stop all this nonsense about trust. Katniss and I will work together because it's good for both of us, we'll deal with all the other tributes then we see who's the better girl. Gotta just stay focused on that. Come on Glimmer, don't lose it here. Keep your eyes ahead! You wanted this for years, trained for it all your life, don't get lost in your own head!

We're finally coming to the clearing around the Cornucopia (thank god!) so it's time to focus; time to act. All the rest just gets in the way now. I stop and turn to Katniss, speaking in a low voice. "Stay here, this shouldn't take long." She give me a skeptical look. "If the Career pack was here we'd have seen or heard them by now; it looks like we beat them here. That means as far as anyone knows, I'm still a loyal Career. Trust me, this will be easy. I'll meet you right back here in a few minutes."

It's pretty clear Katniss is suspicious, but seriously, what's her plan? We walk into the Career camp together? Yeah, that's smart. The Careers (with a possible exception or two) aren't idiots; there's a guard left here: Vera, the District 4 girl.

She sees me soon enough and waves, clearly bored. All she's had to do all night is watch for an attack (extremely unlikely) or theft attempt (also unlikely), and make sure that kid from District 3 that claims he can rearm the mines doesn't double cross us. Lousy job. Glad it wasn't me.

Vera walks over to me, smiling. "Hey, Glimmer, what are you doing back? Where's everyone else?"

"We found fire girl, chased her into a tree. But my stupid bow broke, so I need a new weapon. Cheap string, probably made in 12 or something like that." I roll my eye for dramatic effect. I know Katniss heard that and is doing the same. She's way too fun to tease.

"Well ok. But are the others going to be back soon? This guard duty is _boring_! I want to go out and do something. _Anything_ is better than this!"

"Yeah, seemed like they were gonna break camp and get back here soon, one way or another." I head into the Cornucopia, grabbing a sword with a long, slightly curved blade. Feels good to have a weapon I actually like in my hands again.

"What about fire girl? I haven't heard her cannon yet."

I shrug and put the sword and scabbard on my hip. "No idea. Should be done soon though. Cato's way too impatient, you know." I'm about to head out when on a whim I grab some prepackaged food to take with me.

Vera gives me a disapproving look. "Seriously Glimmer? You eat too much and you're gonna get fat!"

"Me? Never!" I give Vera my best friendly smile. "It's for Clove. I think after she saw me at the interviews she's given up on her figure. She totally knows I've got her beat."

Vera giggles and waves goodbye to me as I head back to the woods. "Yeah, she looked ticked when she saw that dress. Take care of yourself out there, Glimmer! Good luck!"

I walk back into the woods and find Katniss right where I left her. She falls into step next to me (The girl moves real quietly through the woods, a lot quieter than me. I'm sort of jealous.) and we head deeper into the woods. After several hundred yards she looks at me. "What, big bad Career girl had a chance to kill a fellow tribute and didn't take it?"

I stop and look at her coldly. "Shut up." And I was starting to like her too.

**Haymitch**

I'll never understand how sweetheart manages to make friends with that personality of hers; I've always figured her and the kid get along and hunt together due to mutual surliness. That one's not too hard to see honestly. Why bread boy would fall in love with her though? Who the hell knows. I don't even know how a townie would see her enough to fall in love. What, he all big and doe eyed staring at her in school or something?

You do this long enough and you see a lot of weird shit and people actually liking sweetheart is no exception. Hell, the Capitol fell in love with that whole star-crossed lovers shit, those suckers. I wonder what they'd have said if they saw sweetheart take a swing at bread boy in private afterwards.

Just goes to show what bullshit these Games are. Doesn't matter who's in them, what they're like, what life they used to have; it's all just drama and bullshit to look better on TV. I just wish those kids would read the damned script I've written for them. Pisses me off, because for once it's actually worth the effort to do something; they both have some sort of chance to win.

Those outfits at the parade were great, so was the hand holding thing (even if sweetheart hated it) and his whole declaration of love played great. Sweetheart was too stunned to manage much of a reaction, which looked perfect for the cameras. After all, with her looking stunned is as good as it gets for her acting skills.

When they went into the Games though, things went sideways fast. Sweetheart got out of the bloodbath like a told her to, but bread boy actually stayed, waiting around for the Careers wanting to join them. And somehow the crazy kid actually managed to talk his way into the alliance! I couldn't fucking believe it; District 12 tributes never make deals with Careers; they get killed by them. He claimed he could help them find sweetheart, sold them a bunch of bull about what she could do. I'm not sure they bought it, but they kept him around anyway.

He didn't seem so thrilled when the alliance actually found sweetheart; sucks when your plans come back to bite you in the ass. And when all your lies fail it's even worse. If it wasn't all life and death and shit it'd be funny.

Next it was princess from over in District 1 that went off script, betrayed the whole alliance to team up with sweetheart. Man, her mentor was pissed. I didn't know they taught those beauty queens some of those words. Looks like sweetheart and princess are a pretty stable team for the moment too. Weird. Well, all this crazy shit has everyone's attention at least, and that means two things: sponsors and Gamemakers staying the hell out of things. Good thing about the sponsors too, I somehow doubt princess will get too many parachutes sent her way, no matter what the money situation is over at the District 1 mentor station.

Hmm, what's that on the monitor? Oh joy, they're about to run into another friend. It's so much easier when I can just get shit face drunk rather than catering to difficult women.

**Author's Notes:**

This is my first time writing a story in first person perspective. Hopefully I'm managing to capture each character reasonably well in a weird sort of stream of consciousness way. As always thanks to Pinklove21 and JB for all their help, and anyone who wants to review or comment, I'd love to hear from you. Thanks for reading!


	3. Melancholy Reflections

**Disclaimer:** I don't own The Hunger Games and am making no money from this.

This story, like most Hunger Games stories I've read will be told from various points of view. As normal, I'll note when they change.

**Gale**

The days Katniss was training were weird. With no mandatory broadcasts I could almost lie to myself and pretend she was still here; pretend she was just running late, or had an errand to run or was home sick. Of course that lie never lasts, as soon as I get out to the woods I can feel she's gone, not just running late.

Normally I couldn't even go out into the woods during the Games, but even when I know the fence will be on, I check, just in case. Surprisingly this year, it's been off most of the time; I think the mayor's taking pity on me. Normally I'd hate someone's pity, tell them to save it for the weak, but, well, who am I kidding? Without my Catnip around I _am_ weak.

It's like in everything I do I feel her absence, and it totally overwhelms me. I just sit at our meeting place and stare off into nothing; the only thing that gets me up is the need to feed both our families. But even that I do on automatic (that's the nice thing about snares, they work whether you're paying attention or totally spaced out.) Without my Catnip any serious hunting is going to bring a lot less game, but we did our best to stock up before the reaping; it'll just have to be enough to last until she comes home. And if she doesn't… God, I don't know what I'd do then. Can I really go on like this for the rest of my life?

Damn it Gale, stop it! You can't get into that trap, people are depending on you! She _will_ be home! Just be patient.

So that's how my days go. Going through the motions of hunting and trapping on auto pilot; things I've done to feed my family for so many years I can do them without much conscious thought.

When the interviews come they do a fine job of breaking me out of my daze. What the fuck, Mellark? Just, what the fuck? We trade with his father, he should know we're close. Even if we're not 'together' he should fucking know better! God I want to hit him.

No one's said a thing since Mellark's declaration, and I look over to see why not. I figured at least Prim would be trying to comfort me. Instead everyone's giving me these odd looks. Oh, shit. Maybe I'm not so good at internalizing my emotions. Crap, gotta work on that. Scaring my family and the Everdeens won't help a thing.

I take several deep breaths, trying to get my rage under control. It takes quite a few, but finally I'm ok enough that everyone in the room can actually sit comfortably around me. I had thought seeing Catnip again would be the most memorable thing of the night. After all, she was radiant, if a bit uncomfortable up there. It was like some Capitol machine took her and polished her to some shiny version of herself, but what was inside was still the same. But leave it to a damned townie like Mellark to take seeing her again and turn it into shit.

But that night was nothing compared to what happened when the Games actually started. I knew Katniss' score of 11 would make her the top target for a lot of people in the games; the Careers aren't stupid, they know who's a threat and will prioritize them. That meant Catnip (along with that big guy from 11) would be the top targets.

Six Careers against my Catnip aren't odds I like one bit. Yeah, the boy from 4 didn't survive the bloodbath, but so what. It's not like he was one who really worried me to being with. So yeah, five instead of six. Those odds still suck. She may be good, damned good even, but five on one is still a long shot.

Bad odds are bad enough, but of course Mellark to fuck things up even more. That son of a bitch (if you've ever met his mother you'll know that's the god's honest truth; no slander there) So we're back to six on one again.

In all the Games I've had to watch I've never once cheered for the Careers to make a kill; I **always **was on the other guy's side, but right now I'd be lying if I said at least a part of me wasn't hoping one of them would just slit Mellark's throat and be done with it. Of course the Careers let me down; instead they let bread boy join. Figures. No wonder townies complain about good help being hard to find. Guess if you want something done right…

I'm not joking here. If Mellark makes it back somehow... If Catnip dies because of this shit… I'll make sure Mellark doesn't live to enjoy his winnings. I've never tried to kill a human, never even wanted to, but I know I can. I kill things to eat every single day. I know how to do it; I know how to hunt my prey.

I learn my prey's patterns, how they move, when they move why they go where they do. I know exactly where, set the trap, what bait to use and how to deal with them once they're caught. Usually that just means a quick death to end their suffering, but with Mellark I think he and I might have a little dialogue first. Not too much, I don't want to drag it out and get caught after all, just enough so he knows who's ending him and why.

But so far there's no need for that. Mellark feeds the Careers a bunch of bullshit about Katniss. Maybe he's trying to be some kind of double agent, I don't know. Still good intentions won't change his fate if she dies and he comes back alive.

The more I watch the more his bullshit feels familiar. Wait a minute, is he feeding them my skill set and claiming it's Katniss'? Ok, that's one I didn't see coming. I guess I should be flattered. My life's good enough to scare the whole Career pack. Who knew. Ok, maybe I hate Mellark a little bit less…

Shame he's totally useless when the Careers actually find Katniss. Yeah, he stops them from getting her out of the tree right away, but so what? All he manages to do is stall for time. He needs to do a hell of a lot more than that! I mean, come on! Kill a Career in their sleep or something! Have some balls! But no, he just lies there like a lump of dough. Good job, bread boy!

Instead of useless fucking Mellark it's a Career who decides to help Katniss. The girl gives Katniss a weapon and leads her out of the Career camp. So I guess that makes twice I've cheered a Career on? Weird shit. This girl's weird too. I remember in all the lead up to the games she was doing this over the top sexy blonde bombshell thing District 1 pulls a lot, but she was a total airhead. Except now she isn't.

She's sized the Careers up, looked at the angles and is making this weird play with Katniss. Gotta say, I like the part of the plan that involves helping Catnip. And I do respect her skills as a hunter (well, of people, but she helped Katniss out so I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt. A little at least). Sized up her opposition well, and made a smart play teaming up with my girl and getting her out of there. (Not that I'm biased or anything…)

But as much as I like what she's doing this girl worries me too; smart opponents are always a dangerous thing. And in her case she's smart and strong, and that makes her doubly dangerous. She says she's sticking with Katniss until the end, some big dramatic duel to the death to close out the Games or some shit. Maybe for a Career that's a storybook ending maybe but I worry this alliance might not last that long.

If this girl's on the level she's a good ally for Katniss, so I guess I'll cheer her on. It's weird though. I'm cheering for a girl knowing that in a few days I'll be hoping she dies. And people wonder why I hate the fucking Capitol so much.

**Katniss**

It's getting close to lunch time, and Glimmer's grumpy. I guess missing meals isn't a part of academy training. Figures. The way she's grumbling you'd think she hadn't eaten for a week. "Come on, Katniss! I'm hungry!" I swear I can _hear_ how blonde she is. "Let's stop and eat already!" Ugh. And she's actually getting worse too.

"All right Glimmer, but look, we should try to get some food, not just constantly eat down our supplies. Gather some stuff, maybe shoot something we can cook for dinner later."

"Why? I grabbed more food from the Cornucopia."

"Because Glimmer, the food from the Cornucopia will keep, which means later on in the Games when food's a lot harder to get that stuff will still be there waiting for us. But for that to happen we need to get food when we can. As in, now."

"But I'm hungry _now_!" she whines. And suddenly it dawns on me: she's doing this just to annoy me. I turn and give her an accusing glare, only to find her stifling a fit of giggles. I should have known; her voice getting that high is a dead giveaway.

"All right, you win." I sigh. "Let's stop for a bit and eat. But I'm serious about food, Glimmer. So how about you something ready for us and I'll scout around. I shouldn't be more than five or ten minutes."

She smiles and nods, sitting down on a rock. By the time I'm making my way out of the little clearing we stopped at and into the woods Glimmer is already happily digging through her pack. It feels good to be in the woods hunting again. It's familiar, almost safe feeling really, despite the absurdly obvious danger of being in an arena.

I miss having Gale on my left when I'm hunting, but that can have an upside too; I finally have time to think, something that isn't easy to do with Glimmer around. I swear, she makes a game of teasing me and messing with my head. I don't know if it's some scheme of hers or if she just enjoys doing it. Come to think of it, she does enjoy it. Ok, so maybe it's some scheme, maybe not, but there's no doubt she has fun doing it. Why though? Am I that fun to do that to?

Maybe this is her way of being friendly? Is this how friends get along? I don't really know; my only female friend is Madge, but that's not exactly a perfect comparison; Glimmer and I have talked in a day more than Madge and I do in a month.

Wait, what am I saying? This is the Games; there are no friends. Glimmer and I are allies, that's it. It doesn't matter how trustworthy we may be; it doesn't matter how strong a friendship we may or may not have. In the end we're just tributes and that means one of us has to die.

Even if she's a pure-hearted as Prim, in the end it won't matter; it'll be my bow against her sword; being friends will just make that harder. Maybe that's why she's doing it? Act like she's my friend, make me forge this emotional connection to her so when it's just us I'd hesitate and she has the edge?

Is it too cynical to think she's doing that? She doesn't seem like she's doing this just to make me easier to kill later, but I just don't know. She's a Career, she's trained for this all her life. Ugh! This place has my mind twisted in knots. God I wish I was with Gale instead of Glimmer and these woods were District 12, not some Capitol manufactured hell to amuse freaks I can barely even think of as human.

This all has me so distracted I don't even feel the presence of another person until they're practically close enough to touch me. I'm not sure how I know they're there, it must be something subconscious; a change in how the forest sounds, little noises only a person makes, things smelling a bit different. Whatever it is, they're close, but they haven't attacked me yet.

It's almost embarrassing I let someone sneak up on me in the woods. Ok, sure Gale does it all the time, but he's a special case. Usually I'm a lot more with it than this. I keep walking, making my steps easy and relaxed like they were when I was lost in my thoughts. To most anyone watching me they'll just see the same girl strolling through the woods, but it's all an illusion. I take a few more steps and then as soon as my weight shifts to the proper foot I turn and raise my bow in a motion I've practiced all my life, an arrow nocked and ready to kill my newfound shadow.

Rue looks up the shaft of my arrow, terrified. I let out the breath I'd been holding in preparation to fire; this little girl from District 11 is no enemy. It's no wonder I didn't feel any danger when she was following me. She relaxes slightly as I lower my bow; not having a weapon pointed at you anymore will do that.

"Wow, you're fast." She finally says. "I didn't even realize you knew I was there."

"I didn't at first; I wasn't paying much attention. But you should be more careful, sneaking up on people is dangerous in here."

"I wasn't trying to sneak up on you, I was just watching." She defends. It's said without fear; she's just stating a fact. It's something Prim would do.

"Watching?"

"Yeah, watching. Last time I saw you, you were stuck up a tree. Did you drop that nest?"

"Um, no not exactly." Ok, this topic can get awkward fast. I'm not sure Glimmer's particular charm had the same effect on Rue as it did on the Capitol. "I um, managed to find a way out before the sun came up."

"Oh really? What was it?"

Yep, obvious follow-up question I totally wanted to avoid. Ok Katniss, time to try and dodge. Come on, you've done it with Prim, you can do it with Rue. " Hey, Rue, you hungry? I've got some food nearby if you want." Yep, change the subject, always a winner if you have the right subject.

Rue's eyes light up. "Really? I am hungry… Are you sure it's ok? I mean for me to eat your food?"

"Sure, it's be fine. Don't worry, there's plenty, and I know how to hunt. District 12 is in woods like this, trust me, I can get more food, no problem." And that seems to do it. She's still going to find out about Glimmer, but at least this way I don't have to tell her. And besides, she'd just have followed me and seen Glimmer anyway, so it's not like it wasn't going to happen.

I didn't get food to replace what we're going to eat for lunch, but it's back to that clearing just the same. It's not far to where Glimmer's fixing lunch, a minute or two's walk only. Rue is following behind me and must not see where we're going, because when Glimmer looks up and waves to me Rue seems totally unprepared. "Heya Katniss. Get anything?" Hardly among Glimmer's more threatening lines, but it's enough to freeze Rue in place.

She grabs on to the back of my jacket trying to formulate words. "Katniss!" She manages to squeak out in a tiny voice, like a screaming whisper; a tiny little panicked plea. "We have to get out of here! She'll kill us both!"

"No she won't." I try to reassure. "It's ok, she's with me. She won't hurt you, I promise."

Of course Glimmer just has to be the sort of girl who hates being kept waiting and comes over to see who I'm to. The look on her face changes the instant she sees Rue. The casual, friendly Glimmer is gone, replaced with the Career, on guard. "Katniss, what's going on?" The even deadpan she asks in creeps me out. It's just so not Glimmer at all.

I look back and forth between Rue and Glimmer before answering. I really had only figured on one of them being hard to deal with. "Um, Glimmer, this is Rue, from District 11."

"I know who she is; I watched all the reapings. What is she doing here?"

"I ran into her in the woods and invited her to eat with us. Why? Is there a problem?" Glimmer just stares at Rue for a while before turning and walking back to where she'd been sitting without a word.

Ok, now Glimmer's starting to creep me out. The teasing, that I'm starting to get used to; the ego, the vanity, the blonde moments, even the friendliness I can't really determine the sincerity of, all that I'm getting used to. But this? No. Something is seriously wrong here.

I turn back to Rue and try to put on a normal face. "Come on, let's go sit down and eat. It'll be ok, I promise." Rue doesn't seem convinced, but she comes with me regardless.

Glimmer wordlessly hands out what apparently is lunch: plastic packages that claim to be 'Meal Ready to Eat'. It looks like an odd thing to put something to eat into, but inside is real food, some sort of powdered drink, even a side dish and desert. Seriously? This is how Careers eat? This is more than I usually manage for a meal in the Seam, and they consider this survival food in the Games? There's even some weird chemical pack that heats up when I add water. After all, to not have hot food would simply be uncivilized, right?

It's just nuts that the Careers would have to 'suffer' thought food better than people in the Districts get to eat normally. I can tell Rue thinks so too, from the looks she's giving me. Unfortunately she's also glancing at Glimmer quite a bit. Less and less the looks Rue's giving me are comments and the food and more and more they're full of apprehension and fear. Glimmer for her part give me some looks that I can't really read but are definitely not happy. When she's not giving me dirty looks all Glimmer does is stare at her food; mot a single second spent looking in Rue's direction.

Ok, this is ridiculous. Rue's terrified, Glimmer's ticked off and I'm sitting here lost. Is this how normal girls act? God if it is I'm glad I don't deal with socialize much. The only girl I ever talk to is Madge, and we don't talk much. That's why I like Madge actually; she doesn't feel the need to fill nice, normal silences with some sort of stupid chatter. And she absolutely never does this weird game of resorting to odd looks instead of saying whatever needs to be said.

But Glimmer isn't Madge so for all I know sometimes she gets like this, but the more I think about it the more I have my doubts. The question is what to do about this. I suppose I'll have to say something, but it has to be right thing, something subtle. You know, put her at ease, not just attack.

"Ok Glimmer, what's the deal here?" There, the perfect balance of subtlety and gentle probing.

Glimmer stops eating and looks up at me. "Excuse me?"

"I asked what the deal is. You've been acting weird ever since I got back. So what's going on?"

She stares back at me for a good long while. "Nothing. Nothing's going on."

I blink. Nothing? Even I know this isn't nothing. "What? Are you kidding me? Nothing's going on?"

"That's right. Nothing. I said it, now leave it alone." Glimmer snaps.

"You expect me to just drop it? You're acting all weird Glimmer, so tell me what's going on."

"It's none of your business, so drop it already!" Glimmer's moved to angry now. This could definitely be going better.

"It's me." Rue quietly says.

"No sweetie, it's not your fault." I turn to her, trying to reassure her, but the sudden silence from Glimmer feels wrong.

"Wait, is it her?" I ask Glimmer. She stares down at the ground in response. "What'd she ever do to you?"

It takes her a moment to respond. "Nothing. I've never met her before."

This is why silence can be golden The more people talk here the less I understand. "Uh… I don't get it, Glimmer."

She sighs. "Do you really want to know that bad, Katniss? Can't you just let this go?"

Huh. That's actually a good question. Do I really need to know that bad? I certainly know about having parts of yourself you don't want to talk about. On the other hand, with Gale I don't seem to mind no matter what he asks. That's what's so great about him, we trust each other with everything and there's no real worry that trust will be betrayed; it's part of what makes us such a great team. Would it be the same if we kept secrets from each other? What about if we just left things alone when one of us was really obviously bothered?

I'm not sure that'd be a good thing now that I think about it. But is it the same in this case? Can I just switch Glimmer's name in for Gale's and things work identically? I'm in the woods with Glimmer like I go to with Gale, but Glimmer and I have known each other for a day, not most of our lives. And I don't have to fight Gale to the death in the near future, that's a very important difference. Also, I trust Gale, and no matter how nice it might be to have a partner I can trust here, I just don't know if Glimmer is trustworthy or not yet.

But does all that mean I should just leave this alone? She is my partner here, whether I totally trust her or not, shouldn't I care if my partner's so obviously upset? I know she wants me to leave this alone, but it just doesn't feel right to leave your partner wounded, even if it isn't the sort of wound that bleeds.

I need to be subtle I think. For real subtle this time. Hmm, how do I do that though? Nice ways of phrasing things to spare feelings aren't exactly a skill I have. Maybe try to think of what Prim would say if she were here? She's so much better at this sort of thing than me. Come on, think Katniss, think! "Glimmer…" I start, with a much softer voice. "If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. But I really would like to know if you think you can tell me. I think you'd feel better if you did." I hope that's good enough. It's as Prim-like as I can do.

She gives me a long look, probably deciding if she wants to say anything or not. Finally she comes to a decision. "You really want to know?" I give her a nod. "All right, fine. I'm a Career, you know that; I've trained most of my life for this. And not just trained, I was the best, the absolute best of my year. And that doesn't just mean I won a beauty contest, I was the best at everything. At the Academy, they taught us a lot, weapons especially. And you know what? I can use basically all of them, and well too. Name a weapon, I bet I can use it. Swords? Absolutely. Knives? You bet. Same with axes, spears, pole arms, tridents, sickles, scythes, lances, flails, everything. I trained for years, I sparred, I practiced, I did everything. I was the _best_."

Glimmer pauses to take a breath before she gets too worked up. "You know what I did with all that skill? All that training, all that practice, you know what use I put it to?" I shake my head. "I killed people that look just like her." Glimmer points at Rue. "The last kids I saw I killed them. And not just killed them, it was murder; butchery. When the Games started it was a mad rush to the weapons; a lot of adrenaline and sprinting. Of course we Careers got them first, we're bigger and faster, we always win that sort of a contest. I grabbed the first weapon I found, a knife. Some girl, I think she was from 6, got too close and I pounced on her. She was scared, tried to turn and run but all she managed to do was fall on her butt. Before she could do a thing I was on her, straddling her. I stabbed her, felt the blade slide between her ribs. Again and again, I just kept going…"

"Some guy, from 5 this time, tried sneaking up on me, as if you can in the middle of a crowded field. Cato threw him into the side of the Cornucopia before he was any sort of real threat. I left the dead girl behind and moved on the boy. He hadn't even gotten back to his feet before I put the knife into his heart. I left it there this time; The first girl got me distracted, sloppy. You can't afford that in the Career pack, you know. Heck, this year one of the Careers didn't survive the bloodbath, I couldn't afford to join him. I was calming down now, enough to realize that a knife is hardly an ideal weapon when you have your pick So left the knife in the guy's chest. The wound was fatal; no need to stab him more than once. "

"After that I grabbed an axe. That's the thing about the Cornucopia, you aren't ever more than a step away from a weapon. Now by then the bloodbath was slowing down, but not over. I saw another girl, some terrified thing from 9 trying to steal supplies before she was noticed; she never had a chance. Yeah, she saw me coming, but it didn't matter; I was bigger, I was faster and I was armed. She looked like she was going to say something, maybe beg for mercy, I don't know. I buried the axe into her skull."

"Three kills in a matter of minutes. It sounds impressive, as Career stats go. It's the sort of a start that most anyone at the Academy dreams of. Really something to admire, right? I killed 3 kids. And it's not like they were trained or armed or had any sort of skill at all, heck they didn't even want to be there. Hell, I don't think any of them would have known which end of a sword to hold even if I had given them one. All that training, all those years, practically my entire life, and when it's my moment, when all of Panem is watching I murder little kids. Not some honorable duel, not some fight against a worthy opponent, not someone with skills that are a match for my own. No I straight up murdered helpless little kids."

"And then you bring _her_ around here. The last kids I saw I practically painted the Cornucopia with their blood and brains, and that is not a memory I particularly enjoy reliving. Yeah, it's not her fault and I have nothing against her, but just the same, kids are a bit of a sore point for me at the moment."

I just stare at Glimmer. I never thought I'd hear anything like that in my life. Careers are supposed to take pride in the bloodbath, laugh at us poor people from the Districts they kill; helpless, half starved, we're the designated victims. I never thought I'd once hear even the tiniest bit of remorse from a Career for anyone from the districts.

I really don't want to imagine how she feels, never mind picture myself in her place. It's the sort of thing you don't need to imagine yourself in to know it's bad. I know in here sooner or later I'll have to kill. Heck, I almost did with that nest I was going to drop on the Careers, but that's different; they're trained, they're evil. Kids from the districts may be the designated victims, but Careers are the designated villains.

I wonder if Glimmer thinks of herself as the heroine or a villain in these Games. I want to ask her, but even I can tell this isn't the time. Later.

**Madge**

In all the Games I've seen (as in, had to watch) I've never seen a scene like that. The Careers usually try so hard to preserve their image. They spend so much time an effort building it after all, all for sponsors. To lose that image is just not acceptable usually.

These images are always one attribute or another: Cato is strong, Glimmer sexy and so on. But in addition to that they all protect an image of invincibility; they don't feel a thing when they kill. Quite the contrary in fact, most enjoy it. They don't show remorse or regret, they don't hesitate and they never look back and the Capitol loves them for it. Careers always are shown as strong, they have the Cornucopia so have supplies, their carefully crafted images mean they have sponsors to get whatever else they need, even the editing helps them.

Yes, I know the games are stacked, the Capitol plays politics. I am a mayor's daughter after all, and a mayor who's as much of a rebel as is physically possible while living and working in a spotlight. The only reason he goes as far as he does is because District 12 is, well, frankly, a nobody district.

His rebellions attitude has rubbed off on me too. We get the TV stations from the Capitol, the Capitol newspaper, but I've also seen the truth, and that shows me the power of editing. A picture is worth a thousand words is an ancient saying, but a picture can be worth a lot of different words how it's presented. It's all about context, what you show, and what you don't. It's like a stylist really; a stylist can make Katniss look like the proud hunter I know her as, a poor half starved Seam girl the rest of Panem would see her as, or as the girl on fire that she now is to all of Panem.

I'm sure Careers in other games have had moments of weakness, doubt, regret, even broken down crying, but they never show it on TV. The reason is simple really: The Careers are stand-ins for the Capitol in the Games. When District 1 or 2 or 4 kills someone from another district it's as if the Capitol did it themselves. I know it, the Capitol knows it and the districts know it (even if only on a subconscious level) and that's a power the Capitol usually guards.

But I suppose to them Glimmer's a traitor to that now. She teamed up with a girl from the districts, so they're more than willing to let her look weak on TV. Personally I think it makes her look human, and in fact makes me a lot less nervous about her being with Katniss, but I don't really know what anyone else thinks.

That's another thing about being the mayor's daughter: it's lonely. Really lonely in fact. I've gotten used to it over the years (as if there was a choice), but sometimes I still wish it wasn't so. Not that I blame anyone for it; they have their reasons. People in the Seam resent that I grew up never wanting for a thing, and the town people see me as tied to the Mayor, and therefore tied to the Capitol, which they absolutely do not trust. They may live better, but that just means there's more for the Capitol to take. Taxes, fees, regulations, no matter who you are in District 12, the Capitol never lets you forget who has the power.

So I never was one to have many friends. And by not many I mean one: Katniss Everdeen. It's been an odd sort of friendship (or at least it seems like that based on all the other people I've seen.) Katniss never said much, and I was so used to being alone I'd simply gotten used to not saying much either. We'd sit together at lunch, sometimes if times were bad I'd give her half of my lunch if she had none (very discretely of course, Katniss does not accept charity easily.) and sometimes we'd work together on school projects, but that was really it; m one and only friendship. I'm sure it's rather pathetic, but pathetic or not, I miss her.

Besides me Katniss has one other friend in District 12, but unfortunately it's not a friendship I share. She and Gale Hawthorne have a rather obvious connection and a painfully unrequited love. It's almost painful to watch, honestly.

I've known for a while Gale loved Katniss (how could someone not know that?) but I never said anything to her about it; it's not my place to meddle in that sort of thing. Besides, Gale wouldn't exactly like it. He's not my biggest fan, to put it mildly. His life has never been easy, and unlike Katniss, he has never made any effort to get past his resentment of those better off than him like, well me. Like I said, I don't blame him for it, even if I do wish things were different.

So even for a girl used to being on her own, these Games have been rough. My mother is in no condition to watch the Games or even talk to me, and my father has so little free time between his job and the revolution he's helping in its infancy that I'm all alone at home. And the funniest part? Katniss, the girl least likely to make friends in District 12 (well, besides me) has made a new friend. Two in fact. And her first new one is blonde and rich. I can't help but feel a bit of amusement. I guess Katniss has a soft spot for blonde girls.

Her second new friend is the little girl Rue; the one who obviously reminds Katniss of her little sister Prim. The one who made Glimmer so uncomfortable and showed a part of a Career never before show. And she's the one who on TV right now cautiously is walking to Glimmer and giving her a hug. It's amazing how little kids can deal with adults so weighed down by problems. Sometimes all it takes is a bit of friendship or forgiveness. It won't change the past, it won't change the world and it certainly won't solve everything, but sometimes it gives a person what they need to keep going.

Gale Hawthorne might not be someone willing to be my friend, but I wonder if the same can be said about Primrose Everdeen. Maybe I should see if Katniss first rich blonde friend can get closer to a little girl.

**Author's Notes:**

And that's three chapters. Once again, thanks to Pinklove21 and JB, and as always comments, critiques and reviews are welcome. Thanks for reading.


	4. Trifling with Teammates

**Disclaimer:** I don't own The Hunger Games and am making no money from this.

This story, like most Hunger Games stories I've read will be told from various points of view. As normal, I'll note when they change.

** Glimmer**

After I finished my little… whatever the hell you'd call that, Katniss didn't know what to say. That little girl Rue though, she just comes over and hugs me. Um, yeah… No matter how I might tease Katniss about it, I most definitely am not a hugger. "Uh, thanks?" Not sure what her deal is. I certainly didn't ask for her to come hug me.

"It's ok, Glimmer." She reassures me. Uh, nice sentiment I guess. Not that it really matters; it doesn't change where I am or where things lead to. It seems to make her feel better least, so I suppose that's something.

I look over Rue's shoulder at Katniss; she found this girl, maybe she has some idea what to do with her. "We should get going." she announces. "We're still closer to the Cornucopia than I'd like." I guess Rue's coming with us; like that's a surprise. Honestly I don't think Katniss is thinking this through. After all, there's only one possible ending to all this. But I'm not going to be the one to burst her bubble, not now at least. Katniss and I aren't exactly tight, the last thing I need is to mess that up.

At Katniss' urging we leave the awkward lunch behind us and head further into the woods. I'm not really sure where we're going, but Katniss seems to have some idea and keeps leading us on.

As the day wears on Katniss keeps sending glances my way; the sort says 'I want to ask you a question but I'm not sure how to do it.' Wonderful. This is what I get for losing it and venting like that at lunch. I try ignoring it, hoping Katniss will take the hint, but she either doesn't get it or is just plain stubborn. Finally I just give up. "Just ask already."

"Huh? Ask what?" Katniss may try denying it, but she isn't fooling anybody.

"How should I know? But it's obvious you want to ask me something, so just get it over with already."

She looks a bit guilty but and still hesitates. The girl's busted, why can't she get it over with already? What part of get it over with already did she not understand? "Do you regret it? The um, stuff you told us about at the Cornucopia You wish you hadn't done it?" she finally asks.

"I don't know if you realize it, but that's two very different questions, Katniss. Do I regret it? Of course, how could I not? What sort of person can go killing kids and call that an accomplishment to take pride in. But do I wish I hadn't done it? Absolutely not."

"What? How can you say that?" Sigh. She just doesn't understand.

"Weaklings don't last in the Career alliance, and people who refuse to kill qualify as weak, Katniss. Weaklings are prey; they're hunted and killed. So it was simple, either perform at the bloodbath or don't survive it. So no, I don't like what I did, but given the choice I'd rather kill than die, even if it is kids I have to kill."

"You have to prove you can kill or you die?" It's Rue this time asking, sounding amazed. Honestly, I'm not sure why. Careers win better than half the time, didn't they ever ask themselves why that is?

"Every District 1 tribute has proven that we can before we're allowed to volunteer. I don't know how it is in 2 and 4, but I imagine they do it too."

"You killed someone before volunteering even?" Rue's disbelief is growing. Maybe she thinks I'm bragging, or a that there's some sort of gladiatorial blood sport in the academies? I really need to set this kid straight.

"It's not some brutal thing or whatever you're imagining. It's actually pretty weird in a way. Supposedly just after the Dark Times the Capitol had all sorts of prisoners and the academies got dozens and dozens of them, enough that everyone even close to being considered as a volunteer could kill all sorts of different ways. But that was a long time ago. The way it's done now is that before they pick a volunteer, they need to make sure all the finalists can actually kill. So what they have is either a prisoner who's been sentenced to death, which is really really rare, or a volunteer."

"What kind of person volunteers to die?" I guess Katniss is having a hard time with this too.

"Terminally ill people, usually. People who are sick, dying, in pain and want to go out helping or honoring the district. They think it's a huge point of pride, to do something so selfless and noble in their last moment. In my case it was this old man, whatever disease he had had practically eaten him alive; I outweighed him, by a lot. His family was there, all of them, treating it like a celebration. Every one of them thanked me for honoring him like this, for letting him serve the district one last time; they were proud he'd been allowed to go like that. I killed him with a knife to the heart. It was clean and as painless as I could make it. They cried a bit when it happened, but you could still see the pride in their eyes. The guy I killed didn't look scared or in pain or anything like that; he looked at peace. It wasn't a thing like here in the Games."

Well that seems to have finally put an end to this line of questioning. Good. Some things are just plain not anyone else's business, and all of this qualifies. If they hadn't caught me at a weak moment I'd have never mentioned any of this.

It all was really awkward for me, but they seemed to have no problem poking at it. I wonder if they'll be as enthusiastic if I poke at them. "Still, it's a lot more civilized than the alternative, you know."

"What do you mean?" That got Katniss' attention.

"Well in 1 reapings aren't something to be feared. No one ever goes to the Games that doesn't want to. There's no scenes like there was in 12 this year, where you had to volunteer for your sister. Honestly, I'm not sure how any district can justify _not_ having an academy"

"I volunteered for my sister because I love her!" Definitely got to Katniss with that one.

"Yes, I saw the reaping, and it was very touching, but my point is you should never had had to. Your poor sister should never had needed to worry about taking her chances or hoping you'd volunteer for her. It's barbaric, really."

"No, what's barbaric is teaching kids to kill for their entire lives!"

"And has not teaching them worked out better?" Yeah, this is definitely more fun than reliving the bloodbath again.

"Well I'm sorry if we're not all super trained killer Careers like you. Some of us have better things to do with our lives."

I'm about to lay some come back on her when I stop to think for a second. Rather than letting this fall to the level of name calling (and I'm not sure if Katniss realizes this just a bit of payback, not a real serious go at her) I can try a different approach. "Why shouldn't you train your kids? Think about it. Don't you have kids that would volunteer for an academy? Kids from poor families, orphans, anything like that? I thought the District 12 kids were like that as a rule. They also usually die in the bloodbath. Why wouldn't you want to give them the best possible chance to live?"

"Yeah, and how are we going to afford an academy, even if we wanted one? The street of 12 aren't exactly paved with gold. Actually, they aren't paved at all." Katniss replies evenly. Good, shouting match averted. That's one point for me.

I wave my hand dismissively. "The whole streets paved with gold is just a story, none of the streets in 1 are paved with actual gold, even if a few people with no taste have tried painting their driveways gold. And an academy can be started on the cheap if you try. Just train two or three kids of each gender for each year. Yeah, it'll be a few dozen kids, but come on, I know 12 is poor, but you must be able to collectively feed at least that many. You don't need a huge building either. And supplies are easy; just carve some wooden swords and stuff and show the kids how to use them. Heck, even if you just teach them basics and feed them well I bet your odds go up a lot. And once the first one wins they'll get enough money to start building a real academy. Plus you'll have a Victor with real world experience who can teach."

"What, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em? You really think that's the best solution?" Hmm, Katniss isn't buying it.

"Katniss, I don't really see any other options, do you? The Games are a fact of life. You can either train for them and have a real chance, or not train and hope you don't pay the price. What other alternatives are there?"

"And that's the sort of life you think we should lead in 12? Did you actually enjoy the Academy? It doesn't sound like you did if you had to do the whole dumb blonde act." Hmm, I didn't think she'd manage to put me on the spot again. Good for her. "Why'd you even go there in the first place, anyway?"

This girl would have made a good Career the way she keep pressing things. "Well if you must know, it wasn't my choice. But then, it isn't any kid's choice; the Academy starts when you're seven. The first few years it's just like a school. You know, reading, math, science, same as any other school. They teach that and watch; watch to see who's really smart, who's really strong, who does well in sports, things like that. Kids who get noticed get moved over to the training side. You still learn school stuff, but it's more condensed and not the focus anymore; the real focus is training for the games. Now me, I got picked in the very first batch of kids that went over to the training side." I can't hide a smile as I recall it.

"You're proud of that, aren't you?"

"Of course I am. I was one of the first noticed; it means I was one of the best. Now for a few years they'd add new kids to the training side now and then, but after a while it became elimination, not adding to that side anymore. Kids who were eliminated weren't kicked out or anything, they just go bumped back over to the school side. And for most of them, that's why their parents sent them there to begin with. Graduating from the Academy, even if you never went to the training side is still prestigious. Helps you get a job and all, see."

"But not as prestigious as if you were in the training side I'm guessing?"

"Well no, of course not. The brightest, strongest, fastest and most aggressive all get to the training side sooner or later, and the longer you last on that side, the better it looks. Eventually they narrow it down to three boys and three girls. That's when they do that test to make sure they all can kill. After that they're ranked. If any of the top three get picked from the bowl, they get to go. If not, then the top ranked kid gets to volunteer, and if they decide not to then the second and so on."

"And let me guess, you were the top girl." Katniss sort of sounds like she isn't thrilled about the bragging she knows she's about to hear, but that's just too bad for her.

"Absolutely I was. I was the best, the best girl in all of District 1 this year, and I'm proud of it. I worked hard to be." Damn right I'm proud. Screw the districts if they look down on Careers. I earned my place here.

"If you're so proud why'd you have to go through pretending to be someone you're obviously not?"

"Because it gave me an advantage; because it made people underestimate me, and being underestimated is a big advantage. Academy life might not be life or death like in here, but it absolutely was all about being number one. People could see I was good with a weapon, but if they thought I was an idiot they didn't see me as a huge threat, so I slipped under the radar a lot, and that was a good thing. An awful lot of nastiness passed right by me because people treated me like a piece of furniture. Dumb blondes get treated like that a lot; people don't even see you're there."

"That sounds terrible." Is Rue actually pitying me? As if I need that.

"I agree, it does. Everyone just treating you like an idiot or some sort of sex object. I'd hate to live like that." What, Katniss is joining in now too? Since when does she care about social standing?

"You try living in a place like that, a place that rewards aggression and testosterone. And then try doing it when you hit puberty and start to grow like this." A quick gesture to my extremely ample chest. "You can either be a victim and let it control you, or you can use your sexuality. It's a weapon, just like any other, except this was one only I had. So don't bother pitying me or thinking like I was treated like less than a person or any garbage like that. I dealt with morons who were too stupid to see what was right in front of them. They'd stare at my boobs and listen to me say inane things and think they had me figured out. I'm not some person to be pitied. I was the one that took advantage of them all."

"Hmpf, so what, you just slept your way to the top?" God Katniss. Give it a rest already.

"They wish. Any girl can sleep her way to the top and just be a whore to get what they want. I'm better than that though. To get what you want without giving it up, to just offer vague unfulfilled promises, that takes skill. But I had it. I got out of there, I was the one that got chosen, and I did it still being a virgin. I'll be the one to decide if and when that changes, not anyone else." Damn right it'll be me. I don't need some weakling who can't keep his pants on taking control over me. I'm stronger than that.

"What's a virgin?" Rue asks. Crap, forgot there was a kid here. Judging by the look on Katniss' face she did too.

How am I supposed to answer that? Nobody's told me how to teach this stuff to little kids. It's not like I'm the kid's mom. But really, if a kid hasn't learned about the birds and the bees can we agree they're too young to be in here? Explaining how to kill is one thing, and I didn't really care for that little talk, but giving this kid a sex talk is definitely out. I look over at Katniss; it's time she picked up some of the slack. She found this girl after all.

"A virgin is someone who hasn't been with another person. Like how moms and dads are." Hmm, not bad. Heck of a lot better than I could have come up with certainly.

"Oh, ok." Good, she's buying it, because I am absolutely not answering follow up questions on the mechanics of sex. "That's weird. A girl who's pretty like Glimmer is and is her age would have kids already back in District 11."

"Yeah well there's not a lot of people back at the Academy I'd want to have kids with. It's not exactly a place to finds lots of people you can trust to play house with." Ok, it's time to take control of this conversation again, and I know exactly how. "You know, the Academy might not have had a lot of people who were my type, but you never know where you might find someone…" I give Katniss a seductive smile.

She looks at me oddly. "Uh, what do you mean? You met a guy in the Capitol or something?" Ok, not the reaction I was going for at all.

"Oh no, no one in the Capitol. Could be someone an awful lot closer is my type…"

Katniss still looks confused. I can't believe it. Usually I just bat my eyes at someone and they're all over me; I don't think I've ever had to work for it. But all right, if Katniss is that dense, I can deal with that too.

"You know Katniss, you didn't mention a boyfriend back home, and your district mate's declaration of love didn't seem to sway you either… Maybe it's that he's not the right sort of blonde for you? Maybe a blonde with a few more curves?" I pose, making sure Katniss gets a good look at all my curves. That better be blatant enough.

Katniss nearly falls over, finally getting it. "Um, no! I mean um, you're really pretty and um, hot and uh… sexy and all that, Glimmer." Katniss sputters "I'm sure you'll make some girl happy, but I'm um, I'm not like that! I mean, into girls…"

I break up laughing. Oh my god, this was so worth the effort! "Oh god, the look on your face, Katniss!" I can't stop laughing, the girl's reaction was just so priceless!

Katniss stops and glares at me. "What, all that was a joke? All the flirting was made up just to see what I'd do?"

"Yep! You got it!" I'm trying to keep my giggling under control, but it's hard.

"This isn't funny, Glimmer!"

"Sorry, Katniss, but it totally is."

"If you always flirt like that you're lucky nobody ever just tried to just take what they wanted." Katniss mutters.

"They did, but only once." I answer, dead serious now.

"Wait, really?" Seems like that was a throwaway line, not something Katniss expected a serious answer to.

"Yeah, really. There was this one guy who wasn't taking the hint that I was done with him. I'd gotten all the information I wanted out of him, and really, it's not like he even knew enough to be worth the time. So I was totally done with him, but he kept thinking he was a big shot and somehow deserved me. And instead of realizing I was trying to dump him he tried putting his hands where they didn't belong. But like a moron he was too busy trying to paw at my boobs and not paying attention to what my hands were doing; if he had been he might have seen I was going for the knife I always carried. But no, he was a moron and so he won't be doing anything productive with a girl ever again."

Katniss winces. "Ouch. And you didn't get in trouble for that?"

I scoff. "As if. There's no way he'd admit what happened. I think he claimed it was a training accident or something stupid like that, but word of what really happened got around. After that nobody ever tried anything with me again.."

"And you really think growing up like that is a better thing that being normal and going to a regular school?" Geez, Katniss. You're killing me here.

"Oh, you mean how you grew up? So what, sit through classes pretending to pay attention to things you don't really care about? And then what, go run and play and do sports or whatever the heck it is you all do after school in 12?"

"I don't have a lot of friends." Katniss replies quietly. "And I don't play sports. There's extra fees and… no one except a few families in town can afford to pay them."

"Seriously? You don't have any friends and you can't even go kick around a soccer ball or throw a football or something? They can't even afford a field a few balls?" What the hell? I'm actually starting to feel bad for Katniss. Just how bad are things in District 12 anyway?

"I have friends!" Quiet Katniss is gone, just as quickly as she appeared; loud and defensive Katniss is here now. "I have, well, two… And um, no we don't um, really do those things much. My sister has friends she spends some time with, but I really don't…"

"Only two friends? Really? Why? And just what do you do all day long when you aren't in school?"

"Well, yeah… Two… Madge Undersee, the mayor's daughter. We see each other at school and stuff, but not a lot outside. Her family's one of those that can afford whatever they want. And Gale Hawthorne, I spend a lot of time together with him."

Oh, is this a guy in Katniss' life? So even a girl like her can get something going. "Spend time doing what?" I don't even try to hide the grin on my face.

"We pretty much spend every hour of the day we have trying to put food on the tables for our families. Usually we manage ok." Good god, is she serious? Putting food on the table? Like if she doesn't they don't eat that day? What the hell kind of place is District 12?

"Don't you have family to do that? You know, parents or something?"

"My dad died in a mine accident a few years back and my mom… Um, she doesn't really manage so well sometimes. So I have to be the one to make sure we all have something to eat."

"I have to work to help out my family too." Rue breaks in. "I work in the orchards with them; I have two little sisters and two little brothers, but they're still all too young, so I really have to help out a lot to make sure everyone gets enough to eat." What the hell? Food comes out of 11; how can they not eat? What kind of messed up places are the districts? "What about you Glimmer? What's your family like? Do you do anything at the Academy to help out your family?"

"Um, my dad owns a jewelry place; makes his own stuff, some for a little store my family has, but mostly it's sold directly to the Capitol. Uh, my mom helps out at the store some, you know, a few hours a day, but when I was little she stayed at home with me."

This is really awkward. Sure, I've heard of poverty, families like theirs but it's rumors, stories, that sort of thing. Real poverty just doesn't exist in District 1. One parent supporting their family is normal, never mind needing two incomes. And kids working? I thought there's laws against that or something.

"They um, don't pay us at the Academy. It's not like I got home often anyway, it's a boarding school, so everyone lives there; l just went home some weekends, that's really it." God I feel weird saying that, and the looks I'm getting from them really aren't helping.

**Katniss**

It's getting pretty late in the afternoon, and that means we need to find a place to spend the night. Unfortunately, that's not as easy as when I was alone. I think I could stick a twig in the ground and Rue could climb it, but Glimmer's a bit harder. She may not have an ounce of fat on her, but she's still older than me, taller than me and outweighs me, and all that means I need a bigger tree than usual to accommodate her. The Careers have got to be hunting us, so we'll need something good and tall to not get found.

I've been looking for a while now, and if I don't find something soon we're going to have to just settle for whatever's close and hope it's good enough, and that possibility really worries me. We're the biggest targets for the Career alliance now and how good a place we have to spend the night can make all the difference in the world.

The Games have been quiet all day long; I'm sure Glimmer and my teaming up was entertaining for a while, but a lot of our talking probably was either too boring to televise or the sort of thing the Capitol wouldn't want seen, and that means the chances of the Gamemakers doing something to entertain the audience are high. So that means a place to spend the night is all the more important.

There don't seem to be a lot of caves in this part of the arena so a tree seems our only real bet. But with the light starting to fade I just can't afford to be picky. Without hours to search and compare I decide the nearest big tree will have to do. I stop and point at the tree. "We're spending the night up there. You can climb, right Glimmer?"

"Um, yeah sure, no problem. But what do I do if I roll over in my sleep?"

I hold up some rope from my pack in response, which seems to satisfy Glimmer. It's not a difficult climb, and fortunately the tree is big enough that we manage to get about thirty feet off the ground before I think we're close to the limit of branches big enough to hold a sleeping Glimmer. We each pick a branch, secure our packs, tie ourselves in and wait for darkness to fall.

"You want the first watch, Glimmer?" I ask.

"Doesn't matter to me. What were you thinking, switch at midnight? I'm assuming it's just you and I on watch, right?"

I nod. Rue's adorable and it's impressive she's survived this long, but still, I don't know about her standing a watch. I'm good in the woods and Glimmer's a trained Career, but as far as I know, Rue has no special qualifications at all. And besides, she's just a little kid; it'd be like asking Prim to take a watch.

Hopefully tomorrow we can find a better place to camp. Random trees are all fine and good, but I know forests can offer far better places, places we can set up more permanently even. I open my mouth to tell Glimmer she can have first watch when I stop. Something is wrong.

The sound of the forest has suddenly stopped; the birds chirping, the insects buzzing, it's all suddenly gone. That can only mean one thing: the creatures in the woods sense a predator near and have gone silent hoping it doesn't find them.

I start searching for the predator; looking for it, listening to it; smelling for it. Predators aren't usually obvious, but they're hunters so that means their stealth is only to help them stalk, not to actually hide full time, so that means if you know what to look for you can find them.

It takes a few moments, but finally I see it. It's an animal that looks vaguely like a black bear, but with white fur on its chest, with forelegs that are longer than its hind, large pink ears and a long, fur covered tail. I've never seen a creature like this before, so odds are it's a mutt. I have no idea what this thing was before the Capitol got at it, but if it's in the Games it's bound to be lethal.

I quietly reach for my bow, sparing Glimmer a glance to make sure she's ready too. She is, sword already in hand, waiting to be drawn from its scabbard, her tie into the tree quietly cast off. I hope still hold out some hope it won't come to that though; even if this terror knows we're here, we're way too high up in a tree for it to jump at us.

I look at Rue and open my mouth to tell her it's going to be ok but am cut off by this otherworldly screech; it's like nothing I've ever heard before, sort of like a combination of nails on a chalkboard and what I imagine the wail of an animal being crushed in some freakish Capitol machine must sounds like. I look down at the source of the ungodly wail and see it's even worse than I thought; the mutt can climb trees. I nock an arrow and try to line up a rather awkward shot straight down, but there's too many branches in the way; I'll have to wait until it's much closer.

Above me Rue screams and I look up just in time to see her off like a shot. Apparently she doesn't just look like a bird, she moves like one too, jumping from our tree to a branch on a neighboring one, scampering towards the trunk the moment she sticks the landing. So that's how she got so close to me when the Careers had me treed and how she's survived this far into the games. It's really impressive to see, actually.

Unfortunately this mutt seems to decide she's the easiest meal and jumps to the ground starting its pursuit of her. I fire a panicked shot as soon as it's clear of the branches under me and hit the mutt near its hind legs, but it doesn't slow it down at all. It lets forth another unholy screech and continues after Rue in a berserk fury.

Rue jumps from tree to tree, trying to get away and the mutt follows on the ground. They quickly move past any hope I have of another clean shot, and if I don't hurry they'll be too far to follow soon too. I frantically climb down from the tree, still armed, with Glimmer just behind me, but the mutt's lead is huge by now.

I've just reached the ground when I hear the sound of a branch snap and Rue's terrified scream. I start in the direction of the fearful noise just in time to see Rue tumbling down a tree, seemingly bouncing off of every branch on her way down to the slobbering Capitol abomination waiting below. Glimmer and I sprint after her, but Rue falls faster than we run. She hits the ground with a crash, and before she can even think about getting to her feet, the beast is on her.

The mutt pounces, biting down on Rue's right side with the sickening crack I know all too well heralds broken bones. It thrashes its head around in a frenzy, seemingly trying to rip her in half. Glimmer and I run to try to save Rue, but the lead the creature had means it has several long seconds to gnaw on her.

As soon as I'm close enough to have a shot I start firing on it, but my arrows are completely ignored; Its crazed lust for food and death totally overshadow any injuries I seem able to cause, but I don't let that stop me. My fourth arrow has just buried itself in the creature (still without effect) when Glimmer reaches melee range and brings her sword down on the beast. Her blade is remarkably sharp and cleaves off huge chunks of meat at a time.

It seems like an eternity but probably is only a matter of a few seconds before we finally do enough damage to the mutt that it is stops thrashing and finds the stillness of death. I drop my bow and pry the creature's jaws from Rue, but the damage is done; the entire right side of her rib cage appears crushed. I don't need to be a healer to know the wound is mortal.

**Author's Notes:**

Yes, I have seen someone who painted their driveway gold. Yes, it is as gaudy and tasteless as it sounds. And yes, the rest of his property matches that standard. It is not a pretty sight.

And as always thanks to Pinklove21 and JB. Anyone who wants to comment or review I'd love to hear from you. Thanks for reading.


	5. Changing Futures

**Disclaimer:** I don't own The Hunger Games and am making no money from this.

This story, like most Hunger Games stories I've read will be told from various points of view. As normal, I'll note when they change.

** Katniss**

Rue looks up at me with teary eyes. She doesn't scream, she just gives me a sad smile. "Did you get it?" she asks with a tiny voice.

"Yeah sweetie, we got it. It's ok now." I try to hold back tears, but I know my best efforts won't last long.

Rue's breath is ragged and blood flowing freely from the massive bite marks in her side. I want to help her, but I don't even know where to begin; the damage is just so massive. "Can you sing?" she asks me.

Singing isn't something I do ever really except for Prim, especially when she was small and would have a nightmare that left her too scared to go back to sleep. It's been a long time since I've really wanted to sing, not since before my father died, but I just don't have the heart to tell Rue that. I can't say no to her, not when she probably won't ever ask anything of me again. So I take a breath and start singing the same song I sung to Prim all those years ago, the only song I really know.

Deep in the meadow, under the willow

A bed of grass, a soft green pillow

Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes

And when again they open, the sun will rise.

Here it's safe, here it's warm

Here the daisies guard you from every harm

Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true

Here is the place where I love you.

Deep in the meadow, hidden far away

A cloak of leaves, a moonbeam ray

Forget your woes and let your troubles lay

And when again it's morning, they'll wash away.

Here it's safe, here it's warm

Here the daisies guard you from every harm

Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true

Here is the place where I love you.

**BOOM**

Just before I finish my song the cannon sounds. It's Rue's, announcing her death. I look down at the tiny still body and feel my tears about to overcome me. Glimmer reaches down and puts her hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry, Katniss. I know you really liked her." I nod up to her. I don't think I can thank her for her condolence without breaking down at this point.

I slowly get to my feet. No matter how I feel, I know we can't linger here too long; the Gamemakers get angry if they can't recover corpses in a timely manner. We really should go, but it doesn't feel right. Not yet; there's something I have to do first. I look around and quickly find what I need. "Help me out here." I walk a short distance and start picking flowers.

"What?"

"Help me out. Start picking. We need a lot for this."

"For what?"

I give Glimmer and exasperated stare. "Just pick some flowers, will you? You'll see what it's for soon enough. Now please, will you help me?"

"All right, all right." I think she's just agreeing out of some sort of sympathy or something similar. Maybe it's pity? I don't really know, and at the moment I don't care. I can hate the fact I need pity later. For now she's doing what I asked and that's good enough.

We each gather an armful of flowers and take them back to Rue. I know the Gamemakers are probably upset we're still here, but that's just too bad. I'm upset too. "Just set them down here, I won't be long." Glimmer steps back and watches, still being patient with me. I start setting the flowers around Rue's body, braiding a few into her hair quickly. I know I don't have much time, so I settle for simply laying most around her, finishing with a bouquet that I rest on top of her chest, crossing her tiny arms over the flowers to hold them.

"She should never have been here, you know; girls like her or Prim don't have a chance in a place like this. They can't fight or hunt, they're only here to die." I get up and look to Glimmer, still waiting for me. "All right, let's go." I start off into the woods, going in no particular direction. It's almost dark now and I know we need to find a place to spend the night, but I can't stay here; I need to get some distance from this place before I can sleep. I make it a few steps only before I stop.

I look around, quickly finding one of the literally thousands of cameras in the arena. I stare into it a moment before putting three fingers of my left hand to my lips and then extending my arm in salute. It's an old thing from District 12, a way to say goodbye to the dead, a way to silently show distress, sadness and disapproval. I don't know where it first came from, but it feels appropriate now. After a moment Glimmer copies my gesture as well. Finally there's nothing left to do so we begin our trek and search for a place to sleep tonight.

**Haymitch**

The Capitol loves their mutts. Genetic engineering isn't something they get to show off to the districts often since we never get to see the freakish Capitol citizens walking around these streets, so their mutts are all they have for time in the spotlight. Some sort of twisted hall of fame or some shit I guess. I'm pretty sure this last mutt (the TV feed called it a Tasmanian devil, whatever the fuck that is. Crazy fucking bastard seems a better name to me.) qualifies for an award or something.

People watching may think this is just some game with 24 kids, but I've done this for enough years to know it's a lot bigger than that. The Games are control. The Capitol steals children from the districts every year to show them who's in charge, and they give the districts just a bit of hope that they may see a child back again. Of course the hope is crushed more often than not, and even when it isn't crushed it's one winner out of 9 districts that aren't Capitol ass kissers. Crappy odds. So all in one package the Games show Capitol power, give a bit of hope and then break it. It's a great setup for the Capitol really.

It must really piss them off that it isn't working as well as it should this year. Sweetheart and princess teaming up makes for great drama on TV, but the ending is supposed to be princess stabbing sweetheart in the back; at least that's the ending the Capitol wants. So far they aren't getting their wish, and I'm starting to think it might not happen. Princess seems too set on a big titanic battle to prove who the better girl is. The Capitol probably could live with that too, but I don't think they really want either one to win.

After all, sweetheart is a big shiny toy from a place that shouldn't have them and princess is a traitor against the Careers, so in effect a traitor against the Capitol. That and she seems a bit too cynical for her own good. Not exactly the good Capitol cheerleader they want (even if she would look pretty damned good dressed as one).

All the conversations after they found the little girl humanized princess a lot; she's basically being treated like a well trained district girl, not a Career anymore, which means the deck's stacked against her by the Gamemakers and Snow. Funny thing is since her mentor doesn't like this whole ditch the Careers super early thing and hates the ally with District 12 play I'm basically princess' mentor too. I just wish I could tell them to tone down the treason shit; it's just going to piss Snow off more and more, which means that mutt will just be the start.

Well, the kids look reasonably safe, seems as good a time as any to get a drink and poke my head up, see what's going on outside the Mentor Room there shouldn't be any more trouble for the kids tonight. After all, can't make it _too_ obvious they're targeted for death, got to make it look suitably dramatic and shit; let the audience think they have a chance, give them hope. That makes it hurt that much more for everyone when you crush them

Shame I had no idea before the kids went in it'd go like this; I'd have told them a lot more shit about how to act. Sweetheart and princess both could have used some pointers, especially about where the line not to cross is. Yeah, that'd have gone over well; washed up old drunk giving advice to the latest beauty queen from 1.

I wander over to the mentor cafeteria and grab a drink and a newspaper. I should be able to get drunk and not miss much. Damn. That sounds weird coming from me. 12 usually has starving kids that die in the bloodbath; it's weird having to actually think about taking care of tributes rather than just getting piss drunk on the top shelf liquor they have at the Capitol.

Seriously, after what I went through in that fucking arena you'd think they could at least ship the good stuff out to 12; not like I have anything else to do with my blood money. And now that I'm here and can have all I want I need to actually strike a balance: get drunk enough that I actually pass out and don't have the fucking nightmares, but no so drunk I'll be useless tomorrow morning; the kids will need me, after all. Hmm, wonder if I can have an Avox bring me a crate to fill with the good shit so I can ship some home.

The newspaper's boring, as I'd expect. It's just the usual Capitol bullshit, but I don't really care; it's what's inside that matters. Inside this particular issue is some _real _news. There's not a lot of rebels in the capitol, but there are a few, such as the one that makes sure the paper I grab every day here has a few extra news stories.

Usually it's just more of the same: lot of crap about this and that but nothing that really matters. I could sum it all up as 'don't hold your breath for a rebellion to actually break out'. But today there's actually something worth reading here: riots in 11. Big ones. Seems like seeing their kid team up with sweetheart and princess was a big shock; actually gave them some real hope that their sweet innocent little girl might be ok if she's with two heavyweight favorites like those two are now. Yeah, they should have known that shit wouldn't last. It sounds like things were the usual have your hope crushed and move on shit until sweetheart pulled that funeral thing with the flowers.

That sort of shit just isn't ever done; the Capitol never allows it, for this exact reason. That sort of compassion from one district for another, that sort of unity, the emotional ties and all that crap, that's exactly what the Capitol doesn't want to allow.

Honestly, I'm amazed they televised as much of princess' little breakdown as they did. I don't think they realized how far it'd go. Now it's getting out of hand for them. Riots where they had to send in Peacekeepers, real serious confrontations that have the whole district shut down. Damn are those kids going to have a bad time; this sort of thing won't just get the Gamemakers after them, this will get Snow on them personally. I'm not sure if I'm hoping they keep their heads down or if they set more fires. Damn I wish I'd gotten to talk strategy with them in advance.

**Madge**

I made it a point to run into Prim after school. We've never really talked, but I know what she looks like from Katniss, and well, let's face it, Prim stands out in a crowd. "Prim! Primrose Everdeen!" I call to her. It might not be the most polite way to get her attention, but it works. Besides, being polite has me sitting alone and I really don't want to do that anymore. I'll just be sure to apologize for my bad manners later.

Good etiquette or not, I get Prim's attention and she comes over to me. "Um, hello? Madge Undersee, right? Katniss' friend?"

"That's right." I smile at her.

"Um, what can I do for you, Madge?"

"I was just wondering how you're doing with the Games and everything." Not my most eloquent moment.

"Ok I guess; I mean, as much as anyone's ok watching someone they love in the Games. Honestly Gale's handling it worse than I am." No surprise there. "What about you? You're Katniss' friend too."

"I'm managing all right I suppose. It's lonely without her, though." Not exactly subtle, but, well, I'm about results at the moment.

"Ah, that's right, Katniss said you weren't really social. I think that's part of why she gets along with you."

"Yeah, I'm not surprised she'd say that. Honestly, it may be easier to watch it all if I wasn't alone for it." I know, I know, it's absolutely terrible manners to invite yourself over, but, well, I'm doing it anyway. I'll apologize later.

"Oh, well I suppose if you really wanted you could watch with us tonight. I think that'd be ok. You know where we live, right?"

"I know where you live, yes. Thank you, Prim. I'll be by later on tonight." She smiles at me and heads off with a wave. Mission accomplished.

I pick up a pie on my way home, a gift for the Everdeens. It's polite to bring a gift when you go to someone's house, after all. Well, that's what I'll tell them at least. Fact is, I know food is scare at that house and this way I can help them out and use etiquette as a cover. I've never been the sort that's made a huge difference, I'm just sort of… there. It's not much, but even if it's just a little change it's still something I can be a bit proud of; some way I can actually make a difference, even if it's just for a few minutes in one house.

It's a bit after dark, just before the start of the mandatory night broadcast when I knock on the Everdeen's door. In short order a smiling Prim answers. "Ah, Madge, you came! Hi!" I love how enthusiastic and happy she is. It's so rare to see in the Seam.

"Of course, I told you I would." I smile back at her. "Here, I brought a gift for you and your mom. Thank you for having me." I hand her the pie and she stares at it with wide eyes.

"Seriously? You didn't have to do that, Madge."

"Nonsense. I was taught it's good manners to bring a gift when you visit someone's house. Usually with grownups it's a bottle of wine, but I figured this would work out better."

"Oh, well thank you, Madge, that's very nice of you. Come on in. I'll get some plates." She takes the pie and heads into the kitchen, leaving me to go into the living room where Gale Hawthorne is sitting on the couch.

"How to buy friends and influence, Undersee? Good politician's daughter there." Well, it was nice having someone smile at me while it lasted.

"Not at all, Gale. Like I told Prim, it's polite, that's how I was raised."

"Ah, so not an act of pity? Are you sure?"

"Ask anyone, they'll tell you it's good manners."

Gale snorts at me. "Yeah, because I know a lot of high society types. We don't all run in the same circles as you, Undersee."

"And what circles are that, Gale? Just who do you think I hang out with? You see me with lots of friends? Maybe doing things with the town kids who think I'm some spy for the Capitol? Or maybe the Seam kids who are just like you and resent me just because of who my parents are? See me with lots of them? No, you don't. You know why? It's because no one wants to be around me. No one except Katniss. I don't have any other friends, I don't have any brothers, don't have any sisters, just one person, and right now spending time with her family is the only way I can even come close to not being alone right. And if they need help, then I'll help them. And if it takes using etiquette as an excuse so they accept the help we all know they can use then that's what I'll do. And if you don't like it Gale Hawthorne that's just too bad. There's more to this world than your pride. It's about time you learned that."

Oh, wow. That's a lot more than I meant to say. An awful lot more. I know Gale doesn't particularly like me and it's nothing personal, usually I don't let it bother me. I never hold it against him or anything, it's just how he is. I can understand, I've seen the Seam, I can only imagine what my house and my life must look like to them. And it's not like we've exactly earned it; my family didn't work in the mines or anything like that, it's just how it is.

I had the good fortune to be born to a father who went to political school and got the job of mayor of a district's town. Gale was born to a miner. It's just how it is. But tonight, I just don't have the patience for his prejudice; days of being alone and watching my one and only friend fight for her life have worn me down more than I thought apparently.

Gale stares at me. I imagine it's the same stare he must have when he's hunting. The hunter assessing if his target is prey worth taking down or not. Well, it's too late to take it back now. After all, it's not like an apology will change whatever he's going to do. "Fine." he eventually states.

Wait, seriously? Fine? That's it? I know Gale isn't one to say a lot, but I was expecting more. Maybe two words? Possibly even three? I guess it's better than him trying to throw me out. So I suppose this qualifies as a small victory. After all, I'm not alone tonight, and that was the goal of this all along, right?

**Glimmer**

We walked a mile or two from where Rue died before Katniss picked a tree to spend the night in. I think the only reason she did was because of me; if I wasn't there she might have just kept walking all night. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, she did say that Rue girl reminded her of her little sister.

I normally would ask who's taking first watch, but I'm pretty sure it's a pointless question. Katniss is basically in a daze; it's obvious losing Rue hurt her badly, but I get the distinct impression she doesn't want to cry where I can see, so I've been keeping a distance as much as is possible while wandering through dark woods with just a flashlight. And in this tree, well, she's just the next branch over; hardly privacy there. So I suppose the best I can give her for privacy is to sleep, or at least try to.

I know it's probably dangerous to not keep a watch, but there aren't any other realistic options. Katniss isn't in the sort of shape where she could be counted on to take a watch, and I can't stay up all night. Up all day today, if I had to do all night and then tomorrow I don't think I'd make it, not without being a disaster and that's just as dangerous as being vulnerable now. At least at night we're hard to see and from the ground, so the odds are a bit better.

After a few minutes I've made a discovery: sleeping in trees sucks. Yeah, they're fun to climb, can play in them, hang swings from them, but sleeping in them is where I draw the line. Give me a nice fluffy bed any day of the week. Yeah, maybe it's all soft and weak for a Career, but I don't care; just because I'm a trained killer doesn't mean I can't enjoy a good night's sleep. But I don't say a thing and do my best to act like I'm asleep so Katniss can have the time she needs.

Katniss is crying; she's trying to not be so loud that half the forest hears, but it's a halfhearted effort really. I suppose I understand; I've never lost anyone close to me, so I can't say I know firsthand, but I can imagine it'd be tough. Honestly I don't know if I really have anyone so close to me that I'd be broken up like that. I love my parents, don't get me wrong, but after 11 years in the academy, only seeing them on the weekends, and even then sometimes not every single one, I can't say I'm close to them.

So maybe I don't know exactly what Katniss is going through. I don't know exactly why I'm being nice to her like this either. If I'm really honest with myself, I don't exactly have normal relationships with anyone. Everyone is either a potential competitor, enemy to take seriously, people that aren't a threat, people that could get me closer to being the tribute from District 1, people that were in my way, people that I could manipulate with my looks, so many things, but never people I was close to.

I'm not sure what Katniss is, really. Yeah, obviously, she's my ally, but I had allies in the Career alliance too; it wasn't really the same. There it was the tributes I didn't have to worry about and the tributes that would kill me when the time came. Somehow it's not the same with Katniss though.

I know she's a threat to me if she wants to be; her training score alone tells me that. But even more than her score telling me she can be a threat it's her attitude. I've seen it before at the Academy, in students who went to the Games in the years ahead of me, in the instructors and former Victors who taught there. It's a way of carrying yourself, and Katniss has it; a confidence, an experience, a swagger almost.

But at the same time I'm not scared of her. I know that (if all goes well) it'll eventually come down to the two of us and then we'll have to settle things, but for some reason I just _know_ she won't stab me in the back or do anything to betray me before that.

Maybe I'm losing my edge, going soft or something. Or maybe I'm so in love with the idea of some great battle to end the games against someone actually worthy of me to make up for that disgusting bloodbath at the start. Who knows.

**Katniss**

I'm not sure how Glimmer managed to sleep with me crying right next to her. She obviously was faking for a while, but it's a bit of dishonesty I really appreciate. She's ok, but I don't think I could really handle it if she was just staring at me all night or something; it's bad enough all of Panem was watching.

Since the sun's coming up I'm sure there's some idiot on a Capitol morning talk show watching me and talking all about how this affected me. Worse still I'm sure something or other will have to keep them entertained or they'll send more mutts at us; see how the unlikely alliance handles it or some nonsense like that. God I hate the Capitol. I regret ever doubting a single one of Gale's rants; I should have told him he was being too nice.

We'll need to spend some more serious time hunting soon; the food Glimmer got won't last forever. I'm just not sure how much she can get done hunting. We also need to find a better place to set up a camp, preferably something we can defend better than whatever tree happens to be the best we can find before we collapse for the night. Maybe we'll make that our day's plan: hunt and scout. I didn't sleep so well last night and I don't think Glimmer did either, so a lower energy day like that would be good for both of us I think.

I hear Glimmer waking up on the next branch over. Good, I don't want to spend any more time in this tree than I have to; nothing good seems to happen to me in trees. I get a bit of food out of my pack for breakfast for the two of us. I don't know if Glimmer's one to ration so well, so I'll do it for the both of us. I reach over and hand her the breakfast I've made. "Morning."

"Morning." Ok, definitely not a morning person. "Trees suck to sleep in."

"Yeah." I nod. "I was thinking today we hunt for food and look for a better place to set up a camp. Hopefully we can get enough food to last a few days and find a place we can set up a bit more permanently. Maybe a cave or something like that."

"All right. But if you see a nice hotel or something like that, don't fight the urge."

"I'm not sure the Gamemakers have ever thought of adding hotels and stores and things like that to an arena."

"A girl can dream."

We eat our breakfasts and climb down from the tree. Neither of us is sad to walk away from this particular resting place. Just like seemingly every other day I go in a direction basically at random. I'm keeping my eye out for game, slipping into the same frame of mind as back in District 12 when I hunt, so much so that I almost miss Glimmer speaking. "I never answered your question. About why I didn't kill Vera at the Cornucopia."

I stop and look at her. "Vera? The District 4 girl? Wait, where is this coming from?"

"You wanted to know."

"Yeah, and you told me to shut up when I asked. So why talk about it now?" I miss a quiet hunting partner.

"I thought you might like to know."

"Uh huh. Well fine, whatever. Tell me if you feel like it." Death, everyone's favorite topic all of a sudden.

"I didn't want to."

"That's it? You just didn't want to?"

"Yeah, that's it." What the heck is this? Since when does wanting matter around here?

"You think I want to be here? You think I wanted to have to volunteer for my sister? What's it matter what any of us want? We can want everything we like, but that doesn't change a thing! I don't want to be here, I don't want to be hungry, I don't want to have lost my dad, but it doesn't matter what we want! Because no matter how hard we want or hope it doesn't change a thing! We can want as hard as we possibly can but all of a sudden, boom! Some Gamemaker gets bored and here comes a mutt to kill someone and make us watch them die! So I don't see what the hell wanting has to do with anything!"

"That's exactly my point, Katniss." I hate it when I'm angry and the person I'm talking to isn't. "What we want doesn't always matter, and that's what makes it so important in the times it does matter. I don't have anything against Vera, she's a decent enough girl from everything I can tell. I don't want to kill her, heck I don't want anyone else to kill her either. Now I know what I want for her fate doesn't matter. But what does matter is how it happens. If she does have to die in this arena, I don't want her blood on my hands. She's not any sort of serious threat to me; she isn't the sort who was going to betray me, she couldn't beat me in a fair contest. The fact is her odds are bad. But I didn't want to be the one to end them completely. So I chose not to."

"And the point of telling me all this is what exactly?"

"I know you didn't want Rue to die; I didn't either. I might not have been comfortable around her, but I know that has nothing to do with her. I didn't wish her anything ill, really. And yeah, she died anyway. But you have to remember that nothing either of us could have done could have changed that. Like you said, some Gamemaker got bored and sent a monster at us. It sucks, but that's how it is. But what you can't lose sight of is that there are times when what we want and what we choose does matter. You can't just give up on believing that. Otherwise this place has beaten you. You may as well lay down and wait to die if that happens."

I look at her, trying to think of a response, but unfortunately I didn't think to stop walking while I did. Before a single word comes out of my open mouth I feel my foot catch on a tree root and my momentum carries me forward; I start rolling down a hill. The words that were meant to come out of my open mouth are replaced with a loud yelp as I tumble down the incline.

Fortunately it's a rather gentle (and rock free!) slope. Not any sort of trap for tributes or Gamemaker nonsense; I doubt they ever thought anyone would go falling down it. I finally come to a stop at the bottom on something soft. I look under me to see that someone else apparently never thought a fellow tribute could come rolling down this particular hill either.

**Author's Notes:**

Thanks to Pinklove21 and JB for all their help. Comments and reviews are welcome, as always. Thanks for reading!


	6. Bombardment!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own The Hunger Games and am making no money from this.

This story, like most Hunger Games stories I've read will be told from various points of view. As normal, I'll note when they change.

** Katniss**

I stare down at the red-headed tribute from District 5, the girl I'd called Foxface in my head (mostly because I never caught her name.) It's actually the second time we've met like this. The first was right after the bloodbath, we both fled the Cornucopia and ran into each other (literally). That time we just stared at each other and went our separate ways. This time is shaping up the same, though she isn't free to go much of anywhere since I fell right on top of her.

We're staring at each other in an odd sort of stalemate, not sure who will break it first. As it turns out, it's Glimmer who breaks it. "Katniss! Katniss! Are you ok?" She's running down the hill (I'm sure she looks better on TV going down that hill than I did.) Foxface's expression suddenly changes from the same sort of blank surprised look she had last time to raw fear. Hmm, I think she might just know who's coming down the hill.

Glimmer comes to a stop a few feet away, looking over Foxface and myself with a smirk. "Katniss, you've got to tell me. How do you keep finding tributes seemingly at random? Why anyone else would have thought you just tripped and fell; they'd have had no idea it was all part of a clever ambush."

I roll my eyes. "You're not nearly as funny as you think you are, Glimmer."

"Oh, I dunno, I'm sure that got at least a chuckle from the audience."

"Yeah, yeah yeah." I sit up and look at the situation a bit more carefully. It seems Foxface had found a small borough to use as a hiding place, and it's just dumb luck that I literally fell into it. It's a good hiding place in terms of not being seen, but a bad one when it comes to having an escape route, which Foxface currently lacks.

"So what'd you find then? The girl from 5 is it?" Glimmer asks, left hand resting on the scabbard of her sword. Foxface just stares at Glimmer, doing her best to hide her fear with a mask of disgust. "Hmm, nothing to say? I'm pretty sure you're from 5. I did see the reapings and actually did take the time to look at all the other tributes you know; that and the red hair is a hint. Oh and by the way, it really isn't helping you much to stay silent."

"What, you'd rather I beg?" Guess she can talk finally.

"Beg?" Glimmer asks.

"I won't give you the pleasure. I'm not going to beg and make you look good on TV, so just get it over with. I may be dead, but I'm not going to be some prop for the highlight reel of the Career alliance."

"Hey! I'm not a Career!" Didn't she see me? Didn't she hear I was from 12, not a Career district? I was on fire and everything, you'd think she'd have noticed!

"You look like you're in the Career alliance to me."

"Wrong tribute from 12 there. It was her idiot district mate that joined the Careers, not her." Glimmer corrects.

"Wait, um… Then what's this?" Confusion is taking over her expression now. It's funny, in a sick, twisted way, watching the clever girl from 5 being outsmarted by the dumb blonde from 1.

"I ditched the Careers and teamed up with Katniss."

"What? Why? You're from 1, you're a Career; I saw you all chummy with them in training. Heck, we were taking bets if you were actually sleeping with any of them or just flirting!"

"Oh, Cato and Marvel are totally not my type. Katniss though…"

Wait a minute. Just what is that supposed to mean? I look at Glimmer, trying to not be too obviously confused.

"Um…?" This clearly is not the execution Foxface was expecting.

"So what do we do with her?" I ask, watching Foxface carefully. I have no idea if she's armed or not, but considering I'm sitting on top of her if she does I'd be the target. No way I'm giving her a free shot.

"Hmm, good question." I can see how conflicted Glimmer is. I'm sure all her training says that she should just kill the girl and move on; it'll make her look weak if she doesn't, cost her sponsors and all that. But it's pretty obvious she's not eager to just kill another helpless tribute, and I can't blame her; I don't want to just kill some helpless girl. I know sooner or later I'll have to kill someone; the odds of my kill score staying at zero are not good, not if I want to walk out alive. But that doesn't mean I like it.

"What's our options?" I ask.

"Well it's simple. We leave her, we take her, or we kill her." Well, she's right, it is simple, just three choices.

"Would we want to take her with us?" It's weird. I've never been social, never cared for most people, but in this arena all of a sudden I seem to keep trying to build alliances. Even if I know I can't save people it seems I can't help but try.

"Another mouth to feed. I'm not sure what she brings to the table."

"I saw her in training; she was pretty smart, that's something right?"

"That's right! I'm really bright!" Foxface starts pleading her case. Guess she's improvising now. Good for her.

"This isn't school. You don't win here just because you get good grades." Well, I suppose Glimmer has a point… Still, I don't hear her arguing to kill, so I imagine this comes down to if we leave the girl or take her with us.

"But I can help! I know I can! Just give me a chance!"

"A chance to do what?"

"To think of something; to prove I can pull my own weight, help out your little alliance. Just give me a few minutes. Come on, just five minutes!"

Glimmer looks at me and shrugs. I just shrug back. After all, what's the harm? If the girl was going to use a weapon she'd have done it by now. Clearly she's more of a thinker than a fighter, and right now we're offering her a way to think her way out so I don't think she's a threat at the moment. Granted, that may change in five minutes, but for now at least I think we can be patient. "Fine, five minutes." I announce. "By the way, I'm Katniss from 12, that's Glimmer from 1."

"Finch, from 5. Now quiet and let me think please,"

**Gale**

Undersee's been around the Everdeen house a lot lately; pretty much every night I've been over there watching the Games she's been there. Not surprisingly though, whenever Prim and Mrs. Everdeen have been over at my place, no Madge. Weirdness has its limits I guess.

It's like no one is where they're supposed to be; Catnip's supposed to be here with me and Prim, Madge should be back in town doing… well… whatever the hell it is townies do all day. Oh yeah, and that Glimmer chick should be back with the Careers, and Rue should be with, well… with the living.

I see what Katniss saw in her; it's really easy to see in fact, despite some obvious differences. Sure, the hair color and skin tone are totally opposite, but there's just something about the mannerisms, the size, the attitude.. A lightness to how they walk and move, a carefree attitude that seems just so out of place, both here in 12 and in the arena.

It's obvious why Katniss couldn't resist teaming up with her; it's also obvious why it was such a bad idea. I'm sure Katniss thought she could protect Rue, just like Prim, take all the weight herself and handle it, just like she has in 12. But the Capitol doesn't play fair, and no matter how unfair starvation may seem, at least it's predictable and steady; starvation isn't a cheating bastard.

Sometimes Katniss is too naive for her own good. Anything relating to feelings in fact qualifies. I wish I'd been there to tell her that it would end badly, not that she would have listened to me anyway. Naive and stubborn are traits that shouldn't be paired up sometimes, no matter how adorable they may be together. I wonder if that'll ever change. Not too much I hope. Maybe just enough to consider the possibility of us as more than friends? But who knows.

Ever since Prim's name was pulled from that damned bowl nothing's been how it should be; it feels like the entire world is changing, one unlikely happening after another. I'm really not sure what to do about it either. Do I just go with it, or do I try and make a stand as the lone voice of sanity? Is the last normal person in a world full of cooks really normal anymore, or just left behind? Damn life was simpler when it was just Katniss and I against the world, trying to just take care of our families, put food on the table, get enough extra to cover anything else that came up and that was it.

Fact is I'm not her protector at the moment; I can't be. I have to depend on some weird girl from 1 for that. Last sane person or not, that's one bit of weirdness I can't change; it's also the hardest. I can take Undersee trying to be social and actually having the guts to yell at me, I can take Katniss being gone (because I really do believe she'll be back, even if I'm terrified I could be wrong), I can take having to watch her find a surrogate little sister and go through the agony of losing her, but needing someone else to protect her, that's something I don't know how to take.

Katniss and I have looked after each other for years, but now all I can do is just sit and watch. I'm so useless now. No, I have to watch someone I never met, someone I didn't train, don't know if I can trust, someone who seems to like the idea of a final climactic duel to the death with Katniss after they take on all other comers. To call me confused and conflicted would be putting it mildly.

The Games are mandatory viewing for all of Panem (well the districts at least, the Capitol loves watching this shit so who the hell knows if they require it there or not.) That means mandatory evening broadcasts every single evening. For people who work, that's it, but for people in school (like me) there's a mandatory morning broadcast as well; school is reduced to just a half day in the afternoon. Indoctrinating kids to the Capitol's bullshit is more important than school I guess.

So that's why I'm sitting watching TV with Madge and Prim at the Everdeen house now. I seem to watch here a lot. Used to be that about half the time Prim and her mother would come to my house to watch, but it's really obvious Madge isn't comfortable there, and Prim seems to be playing peacemaker, so we wind up at the Everdeens' more often than not.

As has become usual (as much as I hate the new usual) we're watching the Games, the morning broadcast this time; apparently Catnip's the subject of interest today. Caesar's saying that there's another tribute nearby and a good chance they may encounter each other, even though that girl from 5 is supposedly real good at hiding. Supposedly it's all she's done all Games, hide and steal food from the Careers. If you can't use a weapon or know how to live off the land it's about all you can do I guess.

I wince at the way Katniss finds the girl. It's obvious she isn't hurt just, well… It's not the most flattering way to find a tribute. Fortunately the girl seems pretty helpless. Hell, Katniss and Glimmer are discussing what to do with her right in front of her face; it's obvious they don't think she's a threat.

It seems like neither of them has much appetite to kill her either, which honestly makes me proud. I know she'll have to kill sooner or later, after all the odds of all the other tributes dropping dead from heart attacks and Katniss winning by default seem pretty low. But still, just because you have to kill doesn't mean you should just give up and become some casual killer like the thugs from 2.

They settle for giving the girl five minutes to come up with a reason to get taken with them; they don't tell her she's going to live regardless of what she comes up with, but I can't see how the girl wouldn't know. After all, both Glimmer and Katniss can act threatening, but neither one is trying at all today.

The girl from 5 tries thinking for a while and then grabs a stick starts doing math in the dirt. What the hell is she doing? What, she think this is school or some shit? I look over at Madge. She pays more attention in school than me, maybe she knows what all that math crap is supposed to be. "You know what she's doing, Undersee?"

Madge stares at the screen a bit longer. "I think it's physics equations. I'm not entirely what she's trying to figure out though." The girl seems satisfied with her math problem after a minute though and starts eagerly describing her plan to Katniss and Glimmer.

"Will that even work?" I ask.

"I honestly have no idea. I've never heard of anyone trying anything like that in the Games." Madge answers. Frankly, she sounds a bit in awe of the whole thing. I can't say I blame her.

"Trying something like that outside the arena would get you shot."

"You're right." Madge agrees. "That's a major crime. Will they really let it happen?"

"Listen to how excited the commentators are; they almost have to. Audience demands it and all that shit, right?"

Madge thinks about it for a second "Yeah, you're right, they do basically have to let them try. But no matter how much the audience may like the idea I'd hate to be someone who tries copying that thing in real life."

Yeah, Madge is right; they almost have to let the plan go through. It's so crazy the audience will have to see it. But god help anyone who ever tries to build a thing like that outside the Games. They'd be lucky to just be shot for it.

Come to think of it I bet the Peacekeepers over in 5 are having a little dialogue with the teachers there. I think the Capitol might have an issue with a few lesson plans they've been using over there.

**Katniss**

I don't like how close to the Cornucopia we have to be for this plan to work; not just be close, but be that close and working practically all day. I don't even know why we agreed to this; probably because it was just so weird sounding we wanted to see if it would actually work or not. Or maybe Glimmer and I are bored or just want a change of pace. Who knows. Certainly the idea is good: take the fight to the Careers, hit them with a major offensive and all sorts of other important sounding war terms. I suppose they fit though, since this plan really is a battle plan from ancient wars.

All that sounds a lot more impressive than focusing on what we're doing, which is cutting down trees. Four to be precise. After that comes limbing them, then the even more fun task of actually building this thing, which means Glimmer and I get to climb trees and start hoisting our logs up.

Fortunately all three of us have packs from the Cornucopia, so we each have camp saws which make the actually cutting down of trees and limbing them relatively easy. We're left with four logs, each on the long and thin side, but (hopefully!) light enough that Glimmer and I can still hoist them up.

We tie lengths of rope (another gift from the packs we each have) to the ends of the first log and climb into our respective trees. We reach our assigned branches and start pulling in the rope. It's pretty awkward hoisting something up while sitting in a tree but we manage the first log. Once it's up to us we position it, each end resting on a fairly low branch, resting against the trunk of the tree we're in and start tying it down.

"You know I usually get a guy to do this sort of thing." Glimmer complains.

"Yeah, tell me about it. Really makes me miss Gale."

"If this doesn't work I say we stick Finch in the thing and launch her."

"Hmm, sounds a bit harsh. But by the time we're done hoisting these stupid logs up I might agree…"

"Hey, I can hear you two you know!" Finch yells up from the ground.

"Then get up here and help and, maybe we won't launch you out of your contraption!" I yell back to her. Fortunately she actually listens rather than trying some sarcastic remark. I get enough of that from Glimmer, after all.

"How do you even know how to make something like this anyway?" Glimmer asks.

"District 5 is energy, you know? So in school it's all about physics and things like that. So they showed us how to make real simple stuff like this out of dowels and pencils and stuff like that; gotta keep little kids entertained after all. This is just a bit more advanced and easier to build version, scaled up obviously. And, well, actually doable with what we have here in the arena."

"So this is a glorified science project eh." Glimmer doesn't sound impressed at all.

"Hey, science is my thing, and it works! Yeah, I'm not as big as you, not as strong, and I can't use a weapon, but I can make things like this. Machines like this were used in war for centuries! And they used them for so long because they worked! It was to lay siege to castles, but that's sort of what we're doing isn't it?"

"I suppose it is, yeah. And this will actually do what you say?"

"Well it's the aim that's the tricky part. I'm absolutely sure it'll fire, but the accuracy, especially side to side is gonna need some luck. But I really do think this will work."

"Fighting with science eh?" Glimmer asks.

"Exactly! There's no way I could ever make a thing like this on my own, but with you two I can actually do something that matters; I can make a difference here." A lot of pride has found its way into Finch's voice.

"Beats hiding all Games."

"Well that's all I could do! I didn't have any allies, I didn't really have any skills that applied here, so all I could do is run, hide, watch the Cornucopia and steal to survive. I didn't have any choice before I met you two."

"And what if you did have a choice? You wish we'd left you behind or just plain never found you?" What the heck is Glimmer fishing for? I'm sure as heck not giving up on this plan without seeing it through.

Finch thinks about it for a moment then shakes her head. "No, that was really just waiting to die. Hide and hope no one notices me. Of course it was only a matter of time, if not you two then the Career pack who would have just killed me; that's a miserable way to go, just cower and hide until you die. This way I get to actually fight, go on the offensive, and for once what I'm actually good at can matter in the Games; I can be something other than just another victim finally."

Glimmer looks at Finch thoughtfully for a while. "Hmm, I see." I wonder what that means. It's pretty rare Glimmer actually _looks_ thoughtful, so Finch's answer obviously wasn't what she expected. "We should get back to it. I don't want to drag this out longer than we have to; it's dangerous here." Well, I'll just have to ask her about it later I guess.

**Effie**

Being an escort for tributes to the Hunger Games is a prestigious position; at least it's supposed to be. Unfortunately in previous years it amounted to little more than babysitting a drunk. Add to that the fact the average lifespan of a District 12 tribute is less than the time it takes to have a pizza delivered and you get a job that is hardly as glamorous as it sounds.

This year, however, is different. With only ten tributes left both the District 12 tributes are still alive, and one is even in a rather promising alliance, which means I actually get to do my job properly. In fact, I get to in effect do Haymitch's job, since he refuses to. So I go to the sponsor parties for him, talk to the potential donors and press the case of our tributes.

Heaven forbid Haymitch actually do anything beyond sign the sponsor forms. For goodness sake I hear some mentors like Finnick Odair has _personal_ meetings with special sponsors. But of course Haymitch would never show dedication like that. Still, he does seem more sober this year than previous years. Well, not entirely sober, just closer to it.

Of course that means I get to go to the sponsor parties, I get to mingle with the most powerful people in the Capitol, I get to go to the most prestigious places and in general act as if I was the female mentor for what is now a serious district in these games.

In fact there are in effect two major alliances in these Games, now, a first. That's not to say competing alliances haven't formed before, but they were never at all evenly matched. Small groups of frightened yet helpless tributes banded together into makeshift alliances, but this alliance appears to be preparing for a major assault on the Cornucopia, and that assault is all the talk of the Capitol.

The plans have been detailed and analyzed on television of course, but the actual results are still total speculation. Will they actually be able to hit anything? Will they be found out before they even complete their weapon? If they do manage to hit what will the repercussions be? It's all so exciting. And that excitement makes it child's play to get sponsors. At most every sponsor party I go to I see representatives from District 5, but oddly none from District 1. Perhaps they have some secret plan they're hatching. They are far more veteran at this than I.

**Katniss**

It's taken most of the day, but we're finally done; the logs all in place and tied up. Three for a crossbar, then one tied perpendicular to them to be the arm. At one end Finch tied on her backpack, now filled with rocks and dirt. At the other a makeshift basket hangs where the ammunition will be loaded.

"All right, it's almost time to get started!" Finch sure is eager to see her new toy tried. "So here's the plan. Katniss can climb the best, so she'll get to as high in a tree as she can and spot for us. That means tell us where our shots land and how exactly how we need to adjust."

"We need a direct hit on their supplies for this to work?" I ask.

"Well, a direct hit is best, it'll knock the stuff over and blow up all the mines. But if we're even close it may be good enough. They have the mines real close together so if we hit the ground where they are it could be enough to blow everything up."

"So I guess that means I get all the hard work. Load and actually fire this catapult of yours?" I can't say I blame Glimmer's lack of enthusiasm here. The ammunition is rocks, they've got to be almost a hundred pounds each; not something I'd be eager to move around and that's on top of actually pulling the arm down to the ground before any ammo is loaded.

"It's not a catapult, it's a trebuchet! They're better!" Finch proclaims.

"Yeah, whatever. I'm doing the hard work though?"

"Oh. Well, um, yes. And of course I'll help you and try to match our aim to what Katniss tells us."

With our assignments clear, we get into position. Which for Glimmer and Finch means they basically stay where they are and I start climbing. From the top of my tree I have a view of the Cornucopia and the clearing around it, including the pile of Career pack supplies and the recently disturbed dirt concealing land mines around them. I look down to find Glimmer and Finch set and the trebuchet loaded and ready to fire. I wave my readiness to them and a moment later the weapon fires.

I watch as a rock weighing more than my little sister sails through the sky in blissful defiance of gravity. It hits the ground with a thud I can hear even this far away. "Overshot by about 30 yards and it's 10 yards left!" I yell down to Glimmer and Finch. No point trying to be subtle anymore, after all. Any careers around will be coming for us no matter what now, so it's about speed, not stealth at this point.

I watch as they pull the arm back to load another shot. I'm not sure how a real trebuchet is built, but I'm pretty sure it isn't with rope and a lot of improvised knots. I imagine back in District 12 Gale must be smiling with pride at the fact I used so many of the knots he taught me (and thinking all the while of ways he could have done it better).

Pride in my use of the skills he taught me or not, it's clear this improvised artillery will hold up for only a few more shots before it falls apart. You just plain can't make a good hinge for the long term out of just rope, not for something that puts as much stress on the hinge as this thing.

Glimmer and Finch have finally reloaded the weapon and adjust their aim. They let fly again. Either Finch actually can aim the thing like she claims or is lucky; whichever it is we're getting warmer. "Undershot by maybe 10 yards. You're close!" Finch might just be for real. One more shot and the Career pack should be out of supplies; food, water, weapons, medicine, everything; it'll all be gone.

One more reload done and they fire again, but as soon as the arm starts moving things start to go wrong. Some of the knots and ropes holding the trebuchet's arm give way and it swings to the side, sending the shot wildly off. It lands dozens of yards off the mark, and worse still the trebuchet arm is swinging all over the place, and not just on the one axis we tried to restrict it to.

It's hanging by a thread (more or less literally) but at least it hasn't totally broken free. "What happened?" Finch yells up at me.

"The hinge isn't holding; the whole thing's starting to give way."

"Can we still use it?" That's a good question. I might be in a better position to see than the girls on the ground, but I'm still far away.

The arm's swing is calming down finally, but it still isn't what I'd call stable. The weapon's still in one piece but I can't say I feel great about its durability. "Maybe, but it's not looking good. One more try probably, doubt it'll last past that, so make it count."

Glimmer and Finch pull the arm back again and load another rock, probably the last we'll be able to fire. Finch does her best to aim and then they fire. I watch the rock fly through the air, tumbling on its way to Cornucopia clearing so many yards away. Time draws out and I swear I can see every little twist and tumble it makes on its way.

Finch's aim is perfect; the rock hits dead center on the supply pile sending crates crashing to the ground The various weapons and supplies tumble down to the ground and mines waiting just beneath it.. The first crate hits the ground and instantly I see a shockwave, like a giant ball shaped distortion in the air and then a fraction of a second later the boom of the explosion reaches me. It's a sound like I've never heard before. The Capitol's cannons are the pathetic cousins of what we just did.

Below me Glimmer and Finch cheer in triumph. With the explosion they don't need me to tell them it worked; they know. The entire arena probably knows, which it suddenly occurs to me is a problem. A big one. I look back to the Cornucopia and my worst fears are confirmed. "We've got incoming; some of the Career pack! Looks like three of them!"

I start trying to climb down, hoping we can get out of here in time and avoid a fight all together. Below me Glimmer draws her sword and to my surprise rather than running and hiding Finch draws a small knife. I don't have time to think about it though, because before I reach the ground the first Career is on us. It's Clove.

**Author's Notes:**

Another chapter down. Hopefully I managed to keep some mystery about what Finch was designing and building for a while and captured the drama this would have been for anyone watching on TV.

Thanks as always to Pinklove21 and JB. Last chapter got a lot of great reviews, thanks a lot everyone. I'm really glad people seem to be liking the action outside the Arena, not just what happens with Glimmer and Katniss. I love hearing from people, whether it's just a quick review or you're looking to discuss something. Thanks for reading!


	7. Sailing to Valhalla

**Disclaimer:** I don't own The Hunger Games and am making no money from this.

This story, like most Hunger Games stories I've read will be told from various points of view. As normal, I'll note when they change.

** Katniss**

Clove bursts through the trees. The fake smile she had on at the interviews is gone; this is the pure sadist Glimmer described. I'd love nothing more than to shoot her, but I'm just not in a position to do it at the moment; Glimmer and Finch will have to handle her. Instead I settle for trying to get to a branch that gives me some sort of shot at the two Careers who are coming to back Clove up. If I can keep them pinned down we might not be completely overrun, not right away at least.

Glimmer charges Clove, her Career side reemerging in an instant. The hyper aggression and lust for battle that seems common to all Careers rises within Glimmer to meet Clove's own. Glimmer said she wanted a grand duel; she'd planned on fighting me at the end of the Games; she freely told me so. It might not be the end of the Games, but that chance to duel someone who's on her level is here.

Clove throws a knife at Glimmer, who's already starting a horizontal cut with her sword. The knife may have been heading for where Glimmer's heart was less than a second ago, but her attack has carried her body around and the knife finds Glimmer's upper left arm instead. The blade embeds in Glimmer's flesh, but it's too late to stop Glimmer's attack.

Glimmer's blade arcs cleanly on its intended path, slicing cleanly through Clove's throat. Clove was at the outside of Glimmer's range so her blade wasn't able to decapitate the District 2 girl, but her windpipe is cut clear in half. Glimmer's momentum carries her sword to her right but rather than stop it there Glimmer carries that speed back and thrusts forward with the tip of her sword. It happens so fast Clove hasn't managed to fall yet; Glimmer's blade slides cleanly between the doomed girl's ribs and into Clove's heart.

**BOOM**

Clove's cannon sounds. They may debate which was the killing stroke on TV later, but whichever did it, one of our biggest worries is gone. Unfortunately, two more are just now reaching the battlefield: Marvel, armed with a spear and Cato with his sword. "Look out!" I yell down to Glimmer just as Marvel throws his spear.

I let an arrow of my own fly, but they're far away; far enough away that my arrow strays off target and what I hoped would be a kill shot to Marvel's heart instead lands in Cato's right shoulder. I spare a quick glance down at my allies below me while drawing my next arrow and see Marvel's aim was better than mine; his spear hangs impaled through Finch's chest.

Glimmer looks back and screams out Finch's name, running back to the girl, barely sparing a moment to pull Clove's knife from her arm. Finch slumps to her knees as Glimmer reaches her, the bigger girl wrapping her injured left arm around Finch, partly holding her up. She looks down at Finch's wound for a moment before yelling up to me. "Katniss! Cover our retreat!" She starts dragging Finch away from the Careers as best she can with her injured arm, using the other to keep her sword between her and the direction the Careers came from.

I look to see where the Careers are, but it seems they're thinking better of pressing the battle further. Marvel seems to have only been armed with the one spear, and Cato's wound isn't fatal, but the way he's clutching his shoulder I doubt he could fight effectively. Regardless I fire another arrow at them. They're retreated outside my range for now, but they get the message and keep falling back to the ruins of their camp.

I keep climbing down, watching in case the danger isn't really past, but by the time I reach the ground it looks like the Careers really are gone. I go to take Finch from the still injured Glimmer but the look she gives me makes me think better. Instead I move so Glimmer and I are carrying Finch between us. Injured or not, some things a person has to do themselves.

**Haymitch**

I can't believe those kids actually pulled it off. A fucking artillery piece. Christ, they as good as shelled the Capitol themselves! And they got away with it. Well… Sort of. That Finch girl's gonna die; I don't need to be a doctor to know a fatal wound when I see one. Also the TV's saying it went through her right lung and she's got massive internal bleeding. But even without that I can tell! You see enough kids get holes put in them and you get a sense for these things.

I also know that from here things get a lot trickier. They kids are in the final eight (well, really the final seven since red's about to check out) so that means reporters talking to their friends and family soon. That'll mean a slowdown in the action while the audience's attention turns to the interviews, but I'm worried things will get worse for the girls regardless.

As awesome as that whole artillery bit was, I know I'm not the only one who sees the Games as a metaphor for Panem thing. And that means that people with power just saw their Capitol get shelled, and when the defenders came out they couldn't manage to get better than a draw out of the counter attack. The Gamemakers aren't going to let that shit go. Hell, it wouldn't surprise me if Snow himself was moving to direct the action now.

1 and 12 teaming up must have gotten his attention, but weird alliances have happened a few times before; that alone isn't a worry for him. But a weird alliance that holds and can go toe to toe with the Careers? That gets attention; that gets people wondering.

If sweetheart and princess can team up against the Careers then maybe the Districts can team up against the Capitol. After the whole catapult with the weird ass name thing Snow's almost going to have to break them. Just killing them won't do; doesn't send the right message after all. And I doubt he plans to let them have that epic duel to the death at the end like princess planned. No, he won't wait that long. Fucker's patient, but he wants everyone dancing to his tune, not their own.

Problem is, I don't know what he'll do. I don't think it'll be mutts; they already got used. And obviously he can't count on the Careers anymore. Even with red out of the picture and if they patch the brute from 2 up it's still no guarantee, not since princess can apparently back up her big talk.

So I don't know what he'll do. The fucker loves to manipulate and control, sometimes it's direct, sometimes not. Bastard loves blackmail, but I don't see how he can use it against kids in the Games. So that means something else. He'll probably come at them sideways, and that shit's always the hardest to see coming. Damn.

I've got another problem too. Usually getting a kid out of the Games is the big thing for a mentor, but, well, let's face it that normally just isn't a thing for me. The poor half starved kids from 12 are dead meat and everyone knows it. It doesn't matter what advice I give when they aren't going to last through the bloodbath. The best they get is a few nice last meals in the Capitol and that's it.

But this year it's different; this year it's down to the final eight (well, seven in a few minutes) and I've got, well… Really I've got three tributes. And that's a problem; a big damned problem. Ok, even if you write off bread boy I've still got sweetheart and princess; since 1 has ditched princess she's basically mine after all, and she figures big into my real concern: the rebellion.

Either girl can work great there, in theory. Sweetheart even without that whole star-crossed lovers shit bread boy was trying cleaned up great. She photogenic (somehow) and the flame theme would be a perfect fit. Add to that the whole self sacrificing volunteer for her sister shit and she's a great fit. She's no actress and certainly doesn't have much for charm, but she's tough and she could be a great symbol for the rebellion. Well, as long as they don't do too many interviews with her at least.

Princess on the other hand is great on camera; looks great, knows how to smile, and she's been bullshitting people all her life in that Academy of hers, she can do it for us too. That and the girl's actually got some brains; she might be able to handle small bits of responsibility in the rebellion, not just the made for TV bullshit.

Unfortunately, she's from 1, and that means it's a bit of a stretch for the districts to follow her. They'll wonder if she isn't too close to the Capitol probably no matter what she says or does in the Games. And if the mentors from 1 are any indication she won't get a bit of support from there her own district.

Honestly there's pros and cons each way, and I'm not sure which is better. I probably should be considering bread boy too, but he really hasn't done shit to help his case all Games. It doesn't matter how much I might like the kid, teaming up with the Careers isn't gonna play well in the districts. Besides, he hasn't had shit for camera time; it's all about the girls so far.

Anyway even if I did have a favorite I don't know if I could influence the outcome. Hell even if I do pick they could still both blow it and none of it will matter. It all depends how it ends between the two of them, and there's not a whole hell of a lot I can do there. The way shit gets so expensive this late in the Games I'll be lucky to send one thing, and so far they haven't needed anything.

No, I've got to save my cash for when it's needed, not risk it on some crapshoot plan to try to pick a winner. Just gotta hope the kids don't ruin it, and hope that sweetheart's wannabe boyfriend doesn't fuck up the interviews. That and whatever shit Snow's planning, be nice if at least one of them survives that. Damn I'll be glad when the rebellion starts and we can just deal with problems by blowing them up.

**Glimmer**

We've carried Finch a ways, I'm really not sure how far, but we finally reach the banks of a stream. We set Finch down and I look over at Katniss. She looks at me and is obviously concerned about Finch, but I don't see her looking around for something that's ready to attack us. I haven't been paying any attention, so her sense for danger is all I have to go on, and right now she feels reasonable safe, which will be good enough for now.

Finch is quiet now. The pain must be excruciating, but she's taking it like a trooper; a lot better than most of the idiots I saw at the Academy. Some of them cried like babies if they got cut with a weapon, fell and broke an ankle or things like that. Finch has a god damned hole in her chest and she's dealing with it. She yelled when it happened, sure. But that didn't last. Moving her must have been horrible for the poor girl, but she handled it. Moaning in pain some, but that's it. The girl's tough; a lot tougher than I ever dreamed some scrawny kid from 5 could be.

We lay her down near the water's edge and she looks up at me. "How bad is it?"

"It'll be fine. Don't worry about it. We'll patch it up just fine, sweetie." I lie.

"I'm dying. People are always way too nice to you when you're dying." Damn. Girl's too smart for her own good.

"Just hang on, it'll be ok." Damn it. I can't even pull the damned spear out; she'll bleed out in a minute or two if I do that. Not that she'll make it if I leave it in. Damn. I know first aid, but this is way out of my league; there's just nothing I can do. Hell, I've learned enough about inflicting wounds just like this to know a fatal one when I see it. There's just nothing I can do that will change that now.

Finch may be dead in minutes, but she isn't there yet, and that means there's still a bit of time. I'm sure the Gamemakers will hate me for this, but the poor girl deserves better than to just be left for some hovercraft to snatch up. I'll need Katniss' help though, and we have to hurry.

I look up at Katniss. "Get some wood. I need a raft, about two foot by five and a half or six foot."

She stares blankly back at me. "What?"

"A raft. A small flat and easy to construct boat. Just a few logs tied together. It doesn't need to be particularly sturdy, but it does need to get built fast."

"Um, ok… But why?"

"Just do it, ok?" I snap. "I'll explain later, just please, can you do this?" Thankfully she complies. I'm really not in a mood to explain now and Finch won't last long enough that I can afford to waste the time either. It'll be obvious soon enough anyway.

I look back to Finch. "I'm sorry, Glimmer." she apologizes.

"Sorry? Why? You don't have anything to be sorry for."

"You and Katniss could have won if not for me; you could have finished them all off."

"Nah. We weren't ready for that. I got lucky with Clove; I expected the fight to go a long longer. And if we'd stayed much longer they'd have just rushed us. We had to get out of there one way or another."

"But Katniss was up in a tree, she had great shots."

"It's ok, we'll get them later. After all, we just meant to blow up their camp, and you did that for us; anything else was a bonus. You did great. There's nothing to be sorry for. Really."

"Are you sure?" she asks.

"Of course I'm sure. You did great. We did everything we wanted and more. There's nothing to be sorry for at all. You should be proud. It was amazing."

"Oh. Okay then. Thanks…" Finch trails off. A few moments later her cannon sounds.

**BOOM**

Damn it. I can't cry. Not yet. The Gamemakers will want her body; I don't have time to cry. I look to see how Katniss is doing, and fortunately she has a rather rough, but serviceable raft more or less ready. Really it's a few pieces of scrap wood tied together, but it'll be good enough; all it has to do is float for a few minutes. "Ok, that should be good enough. Can you make a fire? It doesn't have to be big."

"Um, sure. But why? There's nothing we can do for her, Glimmer." I know she's trying to be comforting, but Katniss is just taking too damned much time doing it at the moment.

"I know, but please just do it. We're about out of time here. I'll explain what it's for soon, so please just trust me for a minute longer, 'k?"

Thankfully Katniss complies and gets the fire starter out of her pack. I gather a quick pile of dead leaves and lay them on the raft. It's not as good as she deserves, but it's all I can manage. I'm sure she'd understand. I look over at Katniss who has a small fire going now (it's easy when you have flint and steel thanks to a Cornucopia sourced pack). This next part is going to be bad. "Um, I need your help for this. We need to get her on the raft. And um, we need to get the spear out of her."

Katniss nods and lets me take the lead and decide which part of this little task I'll take. It's my idea, so I take hold of the spear's shaft while Katniss holds Finch's shoulders in place. I know it's too late for her to feel anything and any blood that comes out of the wound won't matter anymore, but I still can't shake the feeling of dread at this. I take a deep breath and pull hard. The spear holds stead for a moment and then all at once comes free with a sickening sucking sound.

I toss the spear aside and with Katniss' help we pick up finch's body and set it carefully on the raft. I set Finch's small knife on her chest and cross her arms over it. As an afterthought I set the spear that took her life on the raft as well. All it takes is a small shove and the raft is afloat, drifting towards the middle of the stream where the current will catch it. Katniss hands me a burning stick from the fire, having by now obviously guessed my intention, even if she doesn't know the meaning behind it. I throw the torch onto the raft, where the dry leaves quickly catch fire.

"When I was a little girl, before I went to the Academy, my daddy would read me stories. There were princesses and castles, knights and dragons, all the things you'd expect in stories for a little girl. I loved them. But he also told me stories from history. Really old ones, from before Panem was founded, hundreds of years before, maybe thousands, I don't really know. There were these warriors from somewhere up north where it was cold. They lived near the ocean and would take boats to raid other places. He said they were Norse, whatever that is. They were these great warriors no one could stand up to; tall and strong, proud and powerful, and a lot had long blonde hair and blue eyes he said. I dreamed they looked just like District 1's victors. Yeah, I know, we're green eyed, but to a little girl, it was close enough."

The fire has spread to the entire raft now, starting to lick at Finch's remains. "When one of their warriors died, they had traditions for how to deal with it; their own version of a funeral. They'd take the dead warrior and all his possessions, set them on a boat and float it out somewhere and set fire to it."

The current has picked up the raft now, moving it downstream. Flames are eating at the raft and it won't stay intact much longer. "Finch would have been a good Career. In the Academy she'd have gotten enough to eat to be a lot bigger and stronger. And she was smart; smart enough to build a crazy weapon to attack from far away."

I stop for a moment, sniffling. The Gamemakers can have her body now; I've done what I wanted; I can afford to cry now. "But more than that, she had guts. She had a will to live; a will to win. That's something you can't teach or give to someone, they either have it or they don't. Yeah, she was small, she didn't know how to use a weapon or even how to really survive in the woods, so she hid. But when she had a chance to fight and make a difference, she did."

I wipe away tears. Who cares if it looks weak. "I've watched every Hunger Games there ever has been, all 73 of them. I know them backwards and forwards. No one ever dreamed of building a machine like that before. Even though she knew she had no chance to win, she still did something no one ever thought of, and she made it work. She really made a difference."

I trail off and Katniss gives me a hug. It's a bit awkward, neither of us are the sorts to normally hug. I don't think she really does affection, and after years at the Academy I don't really trust people to touch me, but it's comforting just the same. "She was a lot more than she looked like at first." Katniss agrees. "She deserved better than all this. But she didn't complain or cry, she just kept on going, right up to the end."

We stay there a bit longer, watching the raft move down the stream, slowly disintegrating. "We should go." Katniss announces. The Gamemakers are probably out of patience waiting for the body and we need to find a safer place. I nod and we get going, staying along the edge of the stream.

It's maybe fifteen minutes later when the voice of Claudius Templesmith come on across the arena's speakers. "Attention tributes! Attention tributes! There has been a slight rule change. It is now possible for a team of two tributes to both be crowned victor if they are in a prearranged alliance before the finale. There will be no restrictions on gender or district for these pairings. Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor."

We stop and stare at each other. "What the heck?" Katniss asks. "Does that mean we can both win? We don't have to fight?"

"I think so…"

"So you want to do it? I mean team up and not have that grand duel at the end you were talking about?"

I'm about to answer when Katniss yells out in surprise, trying to jump back, but something holds her in place. I look down and see a hand wrapped firmly around her left ankle.

**Author's Notes:**

This is a short chapter, somewhat by design. There just was no other logical place to break, so it winds up where it is. It's nothing to worry about, just the nature of the plot, next chapter will be back to the usual length.

Action scenes aren't my best area, but I hope the one here came out well. Best way to get better at them is to write them after all, I hope this one is equal to the drama it would be for the citizens of Panem who were watching it on TV. Thanks to Pinklove21 for all her help in cleaning this story up and my friend JB for helping me clear out the last few stubborn parts of the story that needed help. Like always comments and reviews are welcome. Thanks for reading!


	8. Three's a Crowd

**Disclaimer:** I don't own The Hunger Games and am making no money from this.

This story, like most Hunger Games stories I've read will be told from various points of view. As normal, I'll note when they change.

** Katniss**

I make a rather unflattering (and probably somewhat cowardly, if I'm being perfectly honest) noise and try to jump back, but something holds me back, quite literally. I look down and see a hand coming out of the rock, holding firm on my left ankle. I open my mouth to ask what's going on, but it turns out I don't have to.

A boy slides out from under a rock outcropping and sits up. His face and chest are heavily camouflaged, but I instantly recognize Peeta under all the mud and whatever else he layered on top of himself. "Peeta!" I gasp. Yeah, it's really obvious. Gimmie a break. You get grabbed by what looks like a rock and see how you react.

"Katniss." Peeta groans out, slowly sitting up and wiping his face (with moderate success.)

"Oh joy. It's bread boy." Glimmer deadpans.

"Come on Glimmer, help me get him up." I ask.

"Why?" Glimmer crosses her arms.

"So he's not on the ground."

"What do I care if he's on the ground? Let him hide under a rock, makes no difference to me."

"Come on Glimmer, please?"

Glimmer looks down at Peeta who's staring back at her. I think he's trying to not look intimidated, but it's not really working. "Well, how about it, bread boy? Can't even get up on your own?"

Peeta slides out from under the rock he was hiding beneath. "Hello, Glimmer. I see Cato was right, you did team up with Katniss. And no, I can't stand so well." Peeta drags his legs clear of the rock, showing a deep gash in his left thigh. It's still bleeding and has soaked through his pants.

"Oh my god Peeta! Glimmer, come on! We have to help him!" Glimmer gives me a long look and then sighs in defeat. She moves to the opposite side of Peeta and we pick him up, draping his arms across our shoulders. Glimmer's none too nice about it, and I'm at a loss as to why.

She and I have gotten along well; more than well, great even. And she had no problem with Rue, and Finch… Well Glimmer seemed to really respect the girl and got to like her. Sure she was uncomfortable around Rue, but once Glimmer explained the bloodbath that made sense. But even before she explained it's not like she was hostile to Rue. She's been fine with everyone, so I have no idea what her problem with Peeta is. Maybe something from the Career alliance? "Come on, we need to find a place to make a camp and see how hurt he is."

Glimmer bites back some sarcastic remark or another and instead just rolls her eyes. We carry Peeta downstream in search of a place to hole up.

**Gale**

I'm watching the Games at the Everdeens' like usual, with Prim and Madge (which is not so odd as it used to be. In fact it's becoming more usual, odd as that is) I've even gotten used to seeing Katniss with that Glimmer girl.

The whole catapult bit was amazing to see. No one knew if it would actually work, even the guest commentators they had on the TV. They claimed the theory and plan was sound, but had no idea on accuracy. But in the end it actually worked; maybe it was lucky, maybe that Finch girl really was that good, but either way the Careers have a big crater instead of a pile of supplies now. All that sponsor money's gonna get eaten real fast. Literally. Good, let the fuckers starve. It's way past time to see someone else facing it.

And then there was the fight right after the explosion. The Games are required viewing, we've all seen battles; we've all seen blood; we've all seen death. But when it involves people you know, people you care about, it's so much different. The commentators thought Katniss' arrow shot was amazing, but I could tell it wasn't what she was planning; all it took was seeing the look on her face to know she missed.

It's not surprising really, the shot was basically out of range, and her perch was so awkward it's amazing she hit anything at all. No one else would have; I certainly couldn't. But she pulled it off. Hit that Cato bastard in the shoulder, his good one too. Good. Make the bastards spend even more money on medicine. Sooner or later they'll run out, Katniss just has to keep bleeding the fuckers till they're dry.

I have to admit I had my doubts about that Glimmer girl. Yeah, she talked a good game, it was obvious pretty quick she wasn't the dumb blonde she played at. But if she was really as good as she said or just some girl conning her way through life was still a question I wasn't sure about. But it turns out she's for real. The way she killed that Clove girl was amazing. A great ally for my Catnip, but at the same time I started to really worry about how things would go if it really did come down to just the two of them at the end.

They cut away from that weird funeral sort of thing that Glimmer chick put together for Finch. I guess seeing her upset was fine, but once they figured out she was doing some weird funeral thing it wasn't good TV anymore. When they finally cut back to Katniss and Glimmer Finch's body was gone and the girls were on the move again, but Glimmer still looked like she'd been crying. Either she's a good actress who has Katniss fooled or somehow she managed to get out of the Academy while still actually having a heart in her chest.

It's after that things get weird. An announcement both can win? Did I hear that right? I look at Prim and Madge to make sure and find them staring right back at me. None of us are sure what to say. I don't want to ask if I heard what I think I heard. I might not have heard right and I don't want to ruin it by asking. Instead it's Katniss' surprised yell that ruins it. I look back at the TV and of all things it's fucking bread boy. "You've got to be kidding me." Prim and Madge look at me. Crap. Did I say that out loud?

"What's that supposed to mean?" Prim asks.

"Um, well… Uh, I didn't actually mean to say that out loud." I answer lamely.

"Well you did. So what did you mean?" Now Madge is piling on. Both she and Prim are giving me looks that are disturbingly like the ones my mom gives when she wants answers out of me and I'm not eager to offer them up.

"Come on Gale, what's going on?" Prim demands. "They found Peeta, that's good right?"

I sigh a bit. "It's not that simple, Prim."

"Is this about Peeta's interview?" Damn. I miss Katniss and her total ignorance of emotions all of a sudden. Crap, how do I answer that? How am I supposed to explain away how that guy constantly butting in irks me. Irks me. Shit. It pisses me the hell off. Why can't he stay the hell away from Katniss? It's a huge damned arena! What the hell are the odds of them running into each other?

As it turns out, I'm saved from answering by the bell. Well, actually it's the door, but being saved by the door doesn't sound as good. Anyway, someone's at the door knocking.

"Who could that be?" Prim wonders aloud as she goes to answer it.

She opens the door, revealing Thom, a friend of mine from school. "Um, are Gale and Madge here?" he asks.

"Yeah, they are. Why?" Prim asks.

"There's a phone call for them up at the Mayor's house. They sent me to find them."

"A phone call?" I ask. Who could want to talk to me? I mean, yeah, people want to talk to me, but they're all in the Seam. If they want to talk to me they just find me and talk.

"We'd better go see what's going on." Madge says.

I nod and get up and go with Madge. It's a bit of a walk to her house, so whoever's on the phone must really want to talk with us if they're willing to wait this long.

When we get to the house Madge just goes right in the front door. After all, why shouldn't she? It's her house after all. But I've never been in the front door. I've been to this house countless times, but every single time it was selling strawberries and every single time it was at the back door. Seam rats like me didn't use the front door; that was for guests, big important people who came on the train.

Things like this are part of why I had a hard time dealing with Madge before the whole watching the Games together thing. At my house there's no such thing as people not important enough for the front door; the front door is just how you get in. We don't have a servant entrance or whatever the fancy word for the back door is.

Madge stops a few steps inside and looks back at me. "Oh come on already Gale. It's just a door."

Damn. I hate looking weak. I suck it up, put on a neutral face and follow her inside. She doesn't say anything else as she leads me into a study or office or whatever you call a room with a big fancy wooden desk and lots of bookshelves. It's very fancy and tastefully decorated and all that I'm sure, but right now all I care about is the phone sitting on the desk and who could be on the other end of it. Madge picks it up.

"Hello? Yes, this is Margaret Undersee, but please, call me Madge. Yes, he's here. Of course, I completely understand." God I hate hearing just one side of a conversation. These phones seem like a lot of annoyance and trouble. I'm glad I don't have one.

Madge holds the phone out to me. "They want to talk to you. Said it would probably take longer than talking to me so you should go first."

"Um, ok. Thanks, I guess."

I shrug a bit and take the phone. "Hello?"

"Hello, Gale? My name is Cinna, I'm Katniss' stylist." He has a soft voice, nice I guess. Better than that bitch who pulled Catnip's name out of the bowl, that's for damned sure.

"Stylist? You're the guy that made the whole Girl on Fire thing?"

"Yes, I am." He tries not to be obvious about it, but I still hear the pride there.

"Uh, well it was um, good. So uh… Why you want to talk to me exactly?"

"Stylists design the clothes for our tributes, at the Tribute Parade, for the interviews and if we're lucky for the post Games recap and final interview. But I take a somewhat broader view of my job."

"Uh huh. So um, this involves me how?"

"As I told Katniss I want to help her in any way I can. Up to this point that hasn't entailed a great deal beyond what is normal, but from here on forward I think I can do more, and right now that means talking to you."

"Ok. So just what do you want to talk about?"

"You are aware that the final eight tributes, or in this case the final seven have their friends and families interviewed?"

Ah, so that's what this is about. "Yeah, I know that. Why, they gonna want to talk to me?"

"Yes, I believe so. As I'm sure you saw Katniss talked about her friends back home, and it was a short list. You and Madge Undersee in fact were the entire list. So I expect them to talk to both of you, as well as her sister and possibly her mother. Now the interviews with her sister and mother are almost certain to be predictable enough, but with friends it sometimes can wander more."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means there are more questions they may ask."

"Ok, so what?"

"Hmm, how to put this… Gale, let me try to be honest with you. Now, you should know that this line is secure, that is to say, no one listening in, and my role here is to help Katniss, so you can say whatever you like to me without worry." What the hell? What's this guy going on about? "Now Gale, these interviews entertain the Capitol viewers, but they are more than meaningless chatter; these things matter, and to Katniss they can matter a very great deal."

"Ok, you say I can speak freely? Fine. So what the hell are you going on about?"

"Gale, the Games are more than entertainment. I'm sure by now you have realized they are a very real means of control over the districts. Simply put, Katniss' behavior in the Games has earned her some very real problems, and you do not want to add to them. I can help you with what to say and what not to say so you do not make her life needlessly harder."

"What, they're worried Katniss and that Glimmer chick teaming up will show the districts they can team up too?"

"Simply put, yes. 1 and 12 are not supposed to be allies. Also the improvised funerals they held did not earn them any friends among the Gamemakers."

"What, you can't show emotion for dead friends?"

"Well, you have to understand Gale, the Games are not just television, they are like a model of Panem. Close relationships between tributes that last even past death can be seen as more."

"So I'm guessing it's not just me that sees the Careers as basically being stand ins for the Capitol?"

"That's exactly what they act as."

"Ok. So then why this new rule? If they're so big on Katniss and Glimmer being together as a bad thing, why give them incentive to stay together?"

"Gale, I am quite certain that the timing of that rule and their encounter with their newest ally were no coincidence."

"Well fuck. So god damned bread boy really is there to fuck things up, it wasn't me!"

"Quite so, however I would advise you to **not** put it quite like that in front of a camera."

"Um, yeah, I know where I'm not supposed to swear."

"Um, yes, but I might also add the phrase 'bread boy' to the list of things not to say in front of cameras." Cinna chuckles.

"Yeah, well, he's still butting in."

"That may be so, but remember to anyone else this is pure coincidence, so you should be careful to not blame him publicly." Cinna pauses, I guess picking his words. Guy seems to not have to do that often. "I take it you do not particularly like Mr. Mellark? Is this because of what happened in his interview or because of something back in 12?"

"I barely knew him back in 12. What he did at the interview was a dick move though. He's never said a word to Katniss then he all loves her? What the fuck was that? Nobody asked him to say that shit. It's just like now. The guy always butts in where he isn't wanted or needed."

"So let me ask Gale, are you interested in Katniss?"

"Interested?" I play dumb. I'm not really sure why. Force of habit maybe? The fact it isn't any of this guy's business? Yeah, I think that's it. It's between Katniss and I, not him.

"Gale, I'm not here to judge or say who should be with who, I'm here to help. And reporters could ask about this. It came up between Glimmer and Katniss in the Games, so you need an answer ready."

"What the hell's it matter anyway? You think what I say will make her do better or worse in the Games?"

"It matters because there is more to the Games than just what is in the arena. It may not seem like it in 12, but please believe me when I say that the Games are far larger than just that, and while it may not seem like it now, trust me. There is more I can do to help Katniss than you realize, but to do it I need the right things to work with. Katniss has done her part in the Games; with how she's fought and how she's acted, Glimmer has helped Katniss, and now I need you to help as well."

I think about it a while. Yeah, maybe the guy's full of shit, but maybe not. That flaming outfit was amazing, so maybe this guy really can produce. I don't know what the hell he thinks he can do, but I guess he's earned a shot. "All right, I'll play ball. So tell me what to say."

"Excellent Gale. All right, let's start with you and Katniss."

**Katniss**

We managed to find a small cave along the rocky shore of the stream and carry Peeta inside. We set him down and I start digging out the first aid kit from my pack when I see Glimmer still standing near the entrance. "What are you doing, Glimmer?"

"Katniss, where do you see this going?" she asks me.

"What do you mean? I thought we were going to see how bad his leg is. We should look at your arm too."

"I mean this. All of us."

"I don't follow."

Glimmer sighs. "Katniss, how many winners are allowed?"

What kind of stupid question is that? They just said two. And suddenly it dawns on me. "There's three of us now…"

Glimmer nods. "That's right. Real soon a hovercraft is going to come with two seats, and there's three of us in this cave."

Damn. I was so glad to see Peeta again I didn't realize what it meant. One more winner than we thought, and now one more of us than we had. Somehow it seems so much worse this way than it did before.

"Uh, Katniss, why are we even talking about this?" There's Peeta, as if I needed a reminder he was here. "We can go home. Together. What is there to talk about?"

"Peeta, it's not that simple…" I try to explain.

"What are you talking about? We're from the same district; she's a Career. This seems obvious to me!"

"You joined the Career alliance too, bread boy." Glimmer points out.

"But I was never one of you!" Ugh. Peeta arguing with Glimmer is going to get ugly fast, and I already can feel a massive headache coming on.

"Don't start. Either of you. Please?" I look between Glimmer and Peeta, hoping they listen.

"Fine." Glimmer groans. "I'll go find something to try and hide this cave entrance or something."

She turns to leave, but I stop her. "Hold on, let me look at that arm. We don't want it getting infected or you loosing blood needlessly." I get the first aid kit out of my pack and go to work. The wound is fairly deep and has bled for a while now. I do what I can to disinfect and close the wound, cleaning up the blood as best I can. I'm sure Prim would know how to stitch the wound up and do a real nice job, but for now this will have to do. At least it isn't bleeding anymore and hopefully I stopped any infection before it could set in. Glimmer thanks me and leaves. I take a deep breath and turn to face Peeta.

"Katniss, what is going on?"

"We teamed up, Peeta."

"I can see that Katniss. But why? And why are you still together?"

"She's been a good ally."

"Katniss, she's a Career." He's trying to stay neutral with his tone but I can't help but feel like there's a lecturing tone to this.

"Yes, Peeta, I know. She's from 1 and she went to the Academy there."

"And you're still with her why? She's going to stab you in the back you know."

"No she's not, Peeta. We had an agreement, we'd stay together until the end, then when it was just the two of us we'd settle it."

"Katniss!" He's gone from lecturing to shocked. "She's a Career! You can't trust her! Come on, you've seen the Games! You know what they're like!"

"You don't know her, Peeta!"

"Yes I do! I was in the Career pack with her!"

"She told me that was all just an act, Peeta. She isn't some dumb blonde like she acted there."

"Oh yeah, and now what you're seeing is the truth? Are you sure it's not just another act, all for your benefit?"

I don't have a quick response to that. I don't think it's all an act from Glimmer; I like to think I could tell if it was. Honestly there never came a point I started trusting Glimmer, it's just after a while she didn't do anything to make me suspect her, so I eventually just stopped thinking of her as a Career; she was just the girl I was teamed up with.

Since I don't have a ready answer for Peeta I decide to play nurse instead. I take the first aid kit and set to work on Peeta's leg. I cut his pants away around the wound and gasp. "Oh my god, Peeta, what happened?"

"Cato. He had a sword. After you and Glimmer disappeared he wasn't very happy."

I try to hold back the urge to vomit. It's bad. Very bad. The wound is deep and wide, with sickly puss oozing out of it, and I think I can see bone deep inside. There's no doubt it's infected, none at all. If we were back in 12 maybe my mother and Prim could do something, but here I doubt it; I'm not sure how he'll be able to keep his leg without some sort of borderline magical Capitol medicine.

"Is it that bad?" he asks me.

"No, it's not." I lie. I don't think he believes me, but he lets me get away with it. "It'll be fine. Some antibiotics, we bandage it up and you'll be back on your feet in no time." It's a bad lie, but I'm too focused on trying to treat the wound. It's probably all just for show, since I really doubt a first aid kit can handle an infection this bad, but I have to at least try.

I do the best I can and get up stiffly "We're low on food, I'll go try and get some. I'll be back by dark." I turn and leave, but as I get to the cave mouth Peeta stops me.

"Katniss… be careful." I don't muster a response other than leaving the cave.

**Glimmer**

I've gathered some leafy branches and rocks to try to hide the cave entrance. I don't really know what I'm doing when it comes to camouflage; it's not a skill they stressed much in the Academy, but if I stayed in that cave much longer I was going to say something Katniss wouldn't like. I'm sure sooner or later that'll happen, but I'd like to at least try and be a good little girl for a few minutes.

I'm about done with my efforts when I see Katniss come out. She stops and looks at me. "We're low on food. I'm going to get some. Try not to kill him?"

Hmm, that's low on words, even for Katniss. Maybe it's not just me that can't stand bread boy. "I'll try." Katniss nods and we go our separate way, her into the woods and me inside.

Peeta stares at me, still lying down. "So, my personal assassin is here."

I roll my eyes. "Katniss asked me not to."

"Oh, well the word of a Career is a **lot** of comfort. Thanks for that."

I promised not to kill him, but I never said I wouldn't beat the crap out of him. Hmm… I wonder… It wouldn't be so bad, would it? "Says the guy who joined the Career pack on a lie, claiming he'd lead us to Katniss and then lied every chance he got about her abilities?"

"I did it for her! I did it to help her, not because I'm some bloodthirsty glory hound!"

"Oh, and how'd that work out for you? Lots of misdirection that we all bought? Kept us from finding her? Saved her when she needed it, did you?" Peeta just glares at me. "Oh, is that a no? Didn't do any of those things? So hmm, let's see, just what did you do? You talked your way in, sure, but I certainly didn't believe a word you said; I doubt any of them did. Cato may not be the best thinker ever, but I don't think you fooled even him. And you certainly didn't prevent us from finding Katniss."

I smile at Peeta. The sort of smile I use to charm idiot males when it's obvious all their thinking occurs below the belt. Of course here the effect is much different, much less seduction and much more mocking. "Oh, and when we found her and she was trapped up in that tree what did you do? **Nothing!** That's what you did. Absolutely nothing. You just laid there on your back staring up at her. Yeah, real good job there. The time you finally could help her came and you did nothing. It was me that did something; me that got her out of that tree, and me that's been with her ever since. Oh, and if that's not enough, when we do find you again, what are you doing? You're lying on your back again! That seems to be all you can do!"

"You heartless bitch." There it is, cold, angry, pay dirt. Maybe it's not that hard to get a rise out of him when he's in a lot of pain, but it's satisfying just the same. "Just because you spent your entire life training to be some perfect killer doesn't make you better than me. I've actually done something with my life. I have a family, a mother, a father, two brothers and we do something worthwhile with our time and our lives. We make something! We bring something to our district, something real, not just blood and death."

Hmpf, he thinks he'll talk down to me? Yeah, right. "I don't think I'm better than you because I went to the Academy. I'm better than you because when it matters I act; I do things; I get the job done. And that's not about where I trained and you didn't. That girl from 5, Finch, she acted when it counted; she made a difference when she had the chance. But you don't. You just lie there staring and pining away for a girl you didn't even have the guts to look in the eye and tell her you like her. You had to ambush her on live TV when she wasn't there to say a thing to you. You're a coward, and when the time to act comes you're useless. That's why I'm better than you."

He stares at me with pure hate. Good. We're on the same page then. If I hadn't promised to kill him this would be the time for it. Shame I can't. He's no Clove, but I think I'd find it quite satisfying to kill him regardless.

Helpless or not, he's going to hold Katniss and by extension me back, and I'd be doing us both a favor to put a stop to that before it starts. What a pain. "I promised Katniss I wouldn't kill you and I won't. Doesn't mean I'm hoping you last. People a lot more deserving than you are gone. I won't shed a tear if you join them."

I get up and walk out. If I stay it'll be too tempting to break my promise to Katniss.

**Haymitch**

Well this is going just wonderfully. Princess wants to kill bread boy and I can tell he's telling himself he shouldn't hit girls. I also can see that a part of him thinks she's right. Damned girl was pretty vicious going after him. It's all going just like that son of a bitch Snow planned I'm sure.

The interviews with friends and family are coming on soon, a welcome break from this fucking train wreck. Looks like the pregame show is starting in the public feed now. They're showing the crowds watching and… What the hell is that?

The crowds are usually pretty nuts by this point in the Games, but this is almost a mob scene. Well, really it's two mobs. On one side are princess fans, wearing t-shirts with her face on them, some of them are even made of that same see through shit her dress was. They've even got flags and banners and are chanting her name. The other mob is the bread boy mob, and they have swag too; shirts, banners, the whole deal.

What the hell is all this? There's always fans in the Games, but this is really organized; someone set this up; someone who planned it out, designed all the clothes and banners and flags and all that other crap and actually got the people riled up into a pair of mobs. They used shots from the Games and interviews a lot too. Shots of princess and sweetheart at the interviews in the fancy outfits, action shots of each fighting put together, the whole bit.

And then there's ones of bread boy all pouring his heart out to Caesar with that dumb look on his face, a blushing sweetheart (I'm calling bullshit on that one. No way that girl looks like that in real life). Whoever the hell did this, they do good work. They've got the Capitol reduced to two mobs. Sucks for anyone betting on the other tributes, they're totally overshadowed now.

They cut to the interviews now, doing it all in the same order as they announced the training scores. First up is that Marvel kid, and like everything with him in the Games, it totally doesn't live up to the name; it's the usual boring Career shit. Friends at the Academy, family cheering him on, all the usual crap. Yawn.

Next up is the princess interviews. These are a bit strange. They've got her parents who are supportive but pretty obviously don't know her well, and then there's people at the Academy who seem to not know what the hell to say. None of them were really her friends, that much is clear fast.

What's also clear is that her act at the Academy worked, since none of them seems to know what to make of her. It's weird stuff, and pretty weak support of her too; they don't say it, but it's pretty clear they think she betrayed the whole Career way of life or what the hell you'd call it. That or they're just pissy at being played by a girl.

2 is about what you'd figure. Yeah, big tough guys, blah blah blah. Win to avenge the dead chick and how great their guy is. Boring shit. Same with the girl from 4; she seems to have nicer friends, but it's nothing that's going to wow anybody. Same with the guy from 11. Yeah, nice family, all proud of how far he got and all that and absolutely nothing that'll impress anyone in the Capitol at all.

Finally it gets to 12, where there should actually be some drama; I almost feel like I should get some popcorn. And a drink. Actually, fuck the popcorn. It starts with bread boy, his brothers, his parents, some friends; you know, all the usual suspects.

Dad's nice enough, mother tries to be nice (anyone that knows her can tell you that's an act), brothers knew he had a crush on Katniss, school friends are the usual supporters like you'd see in most any final eight interview. They don't much trust princess, some are just wary of her, others outright say she'll betray sweetheart and bread boy. Every last one of them says sweetheart should ditch princess as soon as she can.

Finally we have the people in sweetheart's corner. Her mom's pretty typical, if on the really detached side, and her little sister you can practically put a halo on. Then it gets to her friends; both of them. They don't make a huge thing of it, but the fact she only has two friends is sort of odd. The Undersee girl is polite, refined, everything you'd expect of a Mayor's daughter. She has nice things to say about princess, says good things about bread boy and says she'll support sweetheart no matter what she does. The whole thing sounds like some politician's speech; the girl's definitely smooth.

Last up is the Hawthorne kid. This is where the popcorn should come in. I've seen him around the Hob, I know exactly what he thinks of the Capitol and I'm wondering if he'll behave or he'll tell the Capitol to shove the Games up their ass sideways. It wouldn't do sweetheart any favors but damn it'd be great to see.

But instead he looks like he could be borrowing the little girl's halo. He's polite, supportive, has nothing but praise for how sweetheart has done things, likes princess, he even manages not to swear when talking about bread boy. I know god damned well he's got a thing for sweetheart and the whole unrequited love angle's got to be killing him.

To be honest I don't know how the hell he's giving an interview like this; someone's got to have coached the shit out of him. Who the hell in 12 knows how to do that? I don't think he'd listen to the Undersee chick, in fact I don't think I've ever seen them even speak. So what the hell?

Well whatever the hell is going on, it's certainly making sweetheart look good. It's all really selling the whole bit that princess and bread boy should both want to be with her. When the feed cuts back to the crowds in the streets I can tell they're eating it up. Bread boy's fans love the whole young love and romance angle and princess' people love the devious, clever girl thing. I don't think the interviews changed a whole hell of a lot, but whoever set all this up did. It's been a long time since I've seen games going on I didn't know about. It could actually be fun figuring out who's responsible for all this and why.

**Author's Notes:**

Like always, my thanks to Pinklove21 and JB. I'd love to hear any comments or reviews. Thanks for reading!


	9. Like an Old Friend

**Disclaimer:** I don't own The Hunger Games and am making no money from this.

This story, like most Hunger Games stories I've read will be told from various points of view. As normal, I'll note when they change.

** Katniss**

I've managed to catch three squirrels and a pair of some sort of birds we don't have in 12. They look normal enough, so should be safe to eat. It's not a huge feast, but it'll do for tonight. When I'm close to the cave I collect a few leafy branches for camouflaging the entrance. Once I have enough I go back to the cave and take a few minutes to hide the entrance before going in. Only Peeta is waiting for me. "Where's Glimmer?" I ask.

"She went out."

"Out? Out where?"

"She didn't say."

I frown. "Peeta, what happened?"

"I don't think she and I get along too well." I'd already seen that much before I left.

"And what exactly does that mean, Peeta?"

"I might have said she was a heartless killing machine and she seemed to think I was useless."

I sigh and sit down. I've traded fighting and killing for teenage drama. I miss problems I can shoot. "Peeta, you really shouldn't pick fights with her."

"She picked the fight just as much as I did!"

"Peeta, if we're going to team up you shouldn't do it."

"What do you mean by that?" he's getting angrier fast. "Why would we team up with her?"

"Because she and I are already a team, Peeta."

"So what? We don't need her! We can win on our own! "

"I'm not going to just leave her, Peeta." I sigh.

"Why not? She's a Career, Katniss. A Career. We can't trust them, They're the enemy, remember?"

"She's not like that, Peeta."

"How do you know what she's like, Katniss? You think you can get to know someone in just a few days?"

"Peeta, we weren't just wasting time. It's been a… busy few days for us."

"Yeah, she mentioned something about the girl from 5."

"Finch? What'd Glimmer say about her?"

"I believe it was that she actually did something, unlike me." Oh yeah, he's definitely not happy.

"It's not quite that simple, Peeta. We joined up with her, yeah; I found her by accident actually. We weren't sure what to do, but Finch convinced us she could be useful, had this insane sounding plan. Honestly, it was too nutty not to try, so we took her up on it. We went to a clearing near the Cornucopia and she showed us how to build this catapult type thing. It was sort of jury rigged since we didn't have the right materials, but it worked. On the third shot we hit the Career's supplies and blew them all up."

"Wait, that was you? I heard that explosion! What'd you fire that exploded like that?"

"It wasn't us. The Careers had reactivated the landmines and put them around the supplies, so when we hit the supply pile they fall over onto the mines and exploded."

"So Finch actually is as smart as she looks. Where is she then?"

I shift awkwardly. "Right after the explosion three of the Careers found us. Finch didn't make it. Glimmer's pretty upset about it still, so I wouldn't push it too much there."

"Katniss, if she's that unstable or dangerous we should just leave."

"Peeta, no. I told you, I'm not just vanishing like that."

"Well why not?" He's almost yelling now. "We're district partners! I love you for god's sake! What's your big attachment to this girl?"

Of course he'd bring that up. "Peeta, it doesn't matter what you said on TV. I'm not interested in a relationship right now; not with you, not with anyone else. Sorry." He shifts uncomfortably and a thought occurs to me, so I ask in a softer voice. "Your leg hurting a lot?"

"Yeah, a lot." He answers, calmer now. "Guess it's making me pretty bad to be around. Sorry." I decide to pass on answering that one. "You're serious about staying with that girl? What if it comes down to the three of us? Is it really going to be easier to choose then instead of now, Katniss?"

I barely suppress a groan. "Try to get some rest, Peeta." Thankfully he takes my advice.

I've enjoyed about an hour of peace and quiet when Glimmer comes back in. She looks at Peeta, then to me. "Asleep." I announce.

She nods and sits down quietly, seemingly thinking over what to say. "We've got a problem here, you know."

"We've got more than one."

"What do you mean?"

"His leg, it's bad. Infected."

Glimmer nods. "Use the disinfectant in the first aid kits?"

"Yeah, but it's not going to matter. My mom's a healer back n 12, I've seen wounds like this. I've got no talent for it so I don't stay for the treatments, but I've seen people come in. That infection's out of control. I'm not sure but he may lose his leg; I think it's starting to rot."

"Gangrene you mean?"

I nod. "I think it's going to set in soon if hasn't already, yeah."

"That means we have to amputate, right?"

"Well, if he were in a Capitol hospital they probably could treat him. If we get him there fast enough he should be ok. Otherwise, yeah, we'd have to amputate."

"That's a problem, you know. There's a major artery we'd be cutting."

I blink. "You know medicine?"

"I know the places that can make a person bleed to death. If we slice his femoral artery he'll bleed out in under a minute."

"Can't we stop the bleeding? I don't know, cauterize it or something?"

"Katniss, that's a lot to have to cauterize and we don't have a ton of tools. I'm not even sure how we'd remove his leg."

"Can you sword do it?"

Glimmer shifts uncomfortably. "I'm not sure. Maybe. But it's not something I've practiced or is really taught. I don't know if I'd really want to attempt it."

"We might have no choice, Glimmer. He could die."

"Katniss, if we do this he might die a lot faster."

"Then we have to win before it gets to that point." I state firmly.

"Well that gets us to our first problem. One too many people to win."

I nod slowly. I really don't want to choose. Making it to the end sounded impossible enough at the start, now it's not just that, it's how I make it that's the issue. As if just surviving wasn't a tall enough order. Though now that I think of it, I wonder… "Glimmer, if for some reason I didn't make it…"

"No." It's simple, but iron in its resolution.

"What do you mean? You didn't even hear what I was going to say."

"Katniss, I'm not winning with him."

"What do you mean you're not winning with him?"

"I mean if somehow he and I are the last two standing I'll make sure he's dead before they get through the victory announcement."

"What? Why?" How can she say that? I can't believe this! "But if it's just the two of you there's no need, you'd both get to win! How can you just say you'll kill him? That's murder, Glimmer!"

"Because he doesn't deserve to win."

"What the heck is that supposed to mean, Glimmer?" My anger is starting to outweigh my confusion.

"You think he deserves to live more than Rue did? Has he earned it more than Finch did? All he's done is lay around and do **nothing!** He joined the Career pack out of some weird unrequited love, but when we found you he didn't do a thing to help you, himself or anyone. All he did was lay there all night, staring up into the tree. And then days later what do we find him doing? Laying around some more! Maybe he's a nice guy and has all sorts of great friends and family back home, but here he's worthless."

"That doesn't mean he deserves to die, Glimmer!"

"Most people in here don't, Katniss. Deserve's got nothing to do with it. That's just how it is here."

"But it doesn't matter if he deserved it or not, if he got to the end…"

"And what, I just assume you didn't commit suicide? Or maybe you fought, but not quite your best. Good enough so we'd win, but not so good that there'd be three of us left at the end. I'm not going to go through life wondering about that. And I'm not going to just let him walk out after so many better people didn't. No. I'm walking out of here with you, Katniss. That's my plan."

"Sounds like someone's a bit brighter than they let on." Glimmer and I snap our gazes to Peeta What? He's awake? I didn't think he was listening in on us.

"Yeah, that's right." Glimmer answers coolly.

"So you were lying the whole time in the Career pack? The whole acting like some dumb dress up doll who only knew what dress to wear with which heels?"

"That's right. Oh, don't get me wrong, I have plenty of dresses and I love high heels, but I know a bit more than just that."

"Hmpf, so this was your grand master plan all along? Just act dumb then when no one suspects you kill them all?"

"More or less; though obviously it didn't work out quite like that. But just the same I'm happy with how it's gone." No lack of pride in Glimmer's voice now. "Though to be perfectly honest, as much as I love to boast, I'll give credit where credit's due. It wasn't my plan, I stole it."

"What?" I blink. "From who?"

"A few years back there was a girl from 7 named Johanna Mason. She acted all meek and helpless until near the end, when it turns out she was a brutal killer. Once she dropped the whole scared little girl act the Games were over in just a few hours. She got away with it because she just acted like people expected: a meek helpless little girl from 7. I saw that and realized it could work for a Career too. So I acted like the dumb blonde, all hot and empty headed. I even made sure I got a perfect score in training."

"Uh, you got an 8, same as me." Peeta states simply.

"That's right, an 8. Good enough to get in the Career pack with no questions asked, but not so good they'd see me as a threat. The perfect score for what I wanted."

"Sure you didn't just try your hardest and now you're making excuses?"

"Uh, Peeta, trust me, she's better than an 8." I say.

"How do you know, Katniss?"

"After we blew up the Career's supplies, she took Clove on, one on one. The same Clove who got a 10. It was over in seconds."

"I see." Peeta states. "I suppose I should be sorry for her, but I can't really say I am. She was… not a nice person."

"That's right. She was every bit the sadist you figured she was." Glimmer replies.

It's weird talking about the dead like this. You're not supposed to take satisfaction in someone being gone, but here we are. None of us are sad Clove's gone. Certainly other tributes, but not her.

"So where's that leave us then?" Peeta asks. That's a good question.

**Haymitch**

Well the kids are right on this one; they're in a confused mess. Unfortunately they're also right on the medical front. I'm no doctor, but the TV has done a plenty detailed analysis of bread boy's condition; infected, going gangrenous soon. They seem to love talking about if an amputation could be done safely or not; I think people are even taking bets on it. Christ. Bunch of god damned vultures, every last one.

I check the price list for sponsor gifts yet again. Oh, look, the price of the antibiotics the kid needs have gone up even more. Fun! They were out of reach before, now it's just mocking me. I've never had this much money to work with before. Hell, every year before this combined isn't as much as I've got sitting in my account now, but it's still not enough. No accident either, I'm sure.

The good news is since the catapult thing the price of food has skyrocketed too. Between paying for 3 meals a day for 3 careers plus shit to heal that beast from 2's shoulder they've got to be tapped out. In fact, I know they are. I can hear them bitching about it across the mentor room. Good. I hope the fuckers enjoy poverty. About god damned time they had to watch the Games rather than just buy a victory.

It all points to a quick end to the Games. The Careers will start to starve, probably fucking cry if they miss two or three meals in a row. And bread boy, well, another day and people will be collecting on those bets about if he survives the amputation. It's the sort of setup the Gamemakers force a dramatic finale from. Somehow or other they'll drag that giant from 11 in too.

Wonder how… The kids aren't likely to move much any time soon. I suppose they could have the Careers 'happen' to find them, but that doesn't drag the giant in. No, it's going to be something that'll lure everyone out at once, probably a banquet. They'd dangle all the food the Careers can eat, antibiotics for bread boy and whatever the hell the giant needs all to get one glorious orgy of violence. The perfect end to the Games.

Hmm, I can't afford what bread boy needs, but maybe I can get something else that will help. Ah yeah, here it is. Perfect. It'll almost totally wipe me out, but it shouldn't matter. It's not a cure, but enough to fake it for a little bit at least. Great. I knew saving all that money for so long was the smart play.

**Peeta**

We all hear the chiming at the same time, coming from just outside. A parachute. Glimmer goes to retrieve it, with Katniss covering her with the bow. A few seconds later they come back inside with our prize. They sit near me (since I can't very well go over to see what's inside in my condition) and open it. Inside is a bottle of pills and several objects that look like pens or markers of some sort.

"Markers?" I ask.

Glimmer picks one up and reads the label. "Morphling autoinjector pen. For temporary relief of significant localized pain. Warning, do not use more than four injections in an 8 hour period. Coma and/or death can occur."

Katniss picks up the pill bottle. "Some name I don't think I can pronounce." She shrugs. "Sounds like a general pain killer. No dramatic warnings about death on these though."

"Mind if I try the pills?" I ask. She hands me the bottle and I take one of the pills, washing it down with some water. I wish I could say it's cool and refreshing, but like all the water here that's not from the Cornucopia or a parachute, it's purified with iodine. Even with just the few drops per quart of water the wretched taste taints it all; it may be safe to drink, but I hate the taste.

I was lucky to grow up with plentiful food; it's a real luxury in 12. Even if we sold most of the bread we made, it was always around. The sight of bread loaves, the scent of it cooking, the feel of dough under my fingers, I've always loved it. But best of all was the taste. I'm no glutton (no one in 12 is. No one has enough to be one even if they wanted to be) but I do like food. It's like art to me.

Iodine though, that's just poison; that's its job, it kills things. Just because I can drink it safely doesn't change the fact it's poison. I hate the taste of it. I understand we need it, but it's a constant reminder to me that I'm a prisoner here; I can't have what I want, I can't do what I want, I can't go home, I can't sit down somewhere nice and eat, I can't lay down somewhere soft and sleep, I can't even let my guard down because nowhere is safe.

I'm not even safe in my own mind. Sure, I can put on a brave face, get into shouting matches with Glimmer, trade insults and all that, but I'm not an idiot; I know my odds are bad. There's only seven of us left, and it's a safe bet I'm in the worst shape of us all. Katniss says my leg isn't bad, but she's a terrible liar.

I don't know a thing about medicine, but I've seen how much blood has seeped out of my leg; at first when I was first wounded it practically poured out. Now it seeps, but the total is a lot more than I think is healthy. I also know the sickly colors around the edges of my wound aren't good. I can see the blood vessels around the wound, they're odd red colors I've never seen on my body before.

At least my head is better after I took some of the stuff from the first aid kits Katniss and Glimmer have. I'm not entirely sure, but I think I was getting a bit loopy. It felt like I had a fever. Maybe it's that?

"I wonder why your mentor sent painkillers rather than big time antibiotics?" Glimmer wonders aloud.

"It must be because it really isn't that bad. What we already have should be enough." Katniss lies. She doesn't believe it, neither does Glimmer; none of us call her on it though. The truth is, either one of two things happened. Either the medicine that would cure this is too expensive, or I'm already too far gone for even Capitol medicine to work.

It's a strange thing, to think thoughts like that; to just be so calm about the end of your own life. It's a very real possibility for me now after all; the likeliest possibility in fact. Either whatever infection I have in my leg or a Career's weapon, odds are one of those two will kill me. I suppose it's possible that huge guy from 11 or Glimmer will kill me, but I don't really believe either will happen. After all, how would we run into that guy from 11 and not the Careers? And Glimmer, well, I suppose if all three of us make it to the end it might happen, but seriously, what's the chance of that?

Or it could be that somehow Katniss doesn't make it and it's Glimmer and me left at the end. She said she'd kill me if that happened; claimed I didn't deserve to make it, not after others have died. Now maybe it was all a big act for the cameras, or maybe it's part of some scheme aimed at Katniss, but I think she's serious; if it's just us left at the end she'll kill me.

It's weird, but the worst part of all this isn't the pain, it isn't knowing I'm probably going to die, it's that the accusations Glimmer flung about me being useless and just lying around are painfully true.

My effort to join the Careers and somehow throw them off was pretty lame. I didn't really think it through, I just had to try **something** to help Katniss. I knew in a fight I couldn't really pull my weight, so I thought I could resort to trickery. Glimmer says no one was fooled. Now maybe that's true, or maybe she's just trying to sound smarter than she really is now, but I'm starting to think the girl really is pretty darned bright. After all, her act in the pack worked; I never suspected a thing.

Then there was that night under the tree with Katniss in it; I spent almost the entire night just laying and staring up into that tree. Even when it was dark and I couldn't see her up there, I knew Katniss was still there. I tried, I tried so hard to try and think of some way to help her. Maybe I could have just killed Careers in their sleep?

I had a spear at the time, but I'm not sure I could have done it. I mean, killing a person who's trying to kill you is one thing, but a helpless person in their sleep? Even if they're Careers, and I know they'd do it to me, I still don't know if I could have done it. Maybe I could have killed one, maybe two before the rest stopped me. Well, killed me.. I think I'd have killed Cato first, then if I could Clove; they seemed like the most dangerous. With them dead and the others dealing with me them maybe Katniss could have a chance to either kill the rest or get away.

But it was all just a fantasy. What really happened is that after hours of staring and dreaming I finally fell asleep and it was Glimmer who acted; Glimmer who helped Katniss out of that damned tree; Glimmer who saved the girl I love. Katniss needed me and I wasn't there for her. My big dramatic declaration of love looked just like some cheap ploy as part of the Games. And partly it was that.

Don't get me wrong, I really do love Katniss; I just never had the guts to tell her. When Haymitch called me on it I couldn't even deny it with any real conviction. He was the one who came up with the idea for the big interview reveal. He said if I loved her that was all fine and good, but this way I could tell her and help her at the same time; said it would make a big splash and maybe even set up a story for the entire Games.

Of course it didn't work out like that. I hoped Katniss would blush, tell me she'd watched me from afar and was flattered, or any one of a hundred other ways I'd played it out in my head. My imagination never threw me against a wall like she did.

I wish I hadn't said anything now. Looking back it just feels so cheap, so fake. If I'd been there when she needed me things might be different, but now I just look like some love struck weakling; basically exactly what Glimmer called me. I wish she'd just hit me instead.

Physical pain I can deal with. Since Cato stuck his sword in my leg I've been in pain nonstop. It's strange, but it's almost like an old friend now. I can deal with it; it's not a big problem. And Glimmer, yeah, she's a big strong girl, I'm sure she could beat me up, but I could take it; it's just more pain. I know it, after all. It's a lot easier to handle than looking at what I've done since I came to the Capitol and regretting almost every single thing.

Katniss and I spoke before the games, late at night. Neither of us could sleep that night, and we ran into each other and talked a while. I told her that no matter what I didn't want them to change me into something I'm not. Maybe they have, maybe they haven't. Maybe the guy who uses love like a chess piece is me, maybe the guy who tries some lame lying scam is me, and maybe the guy who just lies there while someone else saves the girl he loves is me, but I don't want to go out like that.

"I think those pills are starting to work. Everything's hurting less." It's actually true. The pain is dulling to more of an ache than the sharp friend I've known for days now.

"That's great, Peeta!" Katniss smiles, really meaning it.

I'm glad to see her smile. It might be the last time I see it. I try shifting positions, partly to get more comfortable and partly to see if the painkillers really are working. It turns out they are; the pain really is getting duller. But as it gets duller, my mind's getting sharper. I haven't been able to think this lucidly for this long since before I had a hole in my leg.

Maybe Glimmer's right and I am the useless loser she sees me as. Maybe not, but really it doesn't matter anymore. If I have only a short time left to live, I'm going to spend it being who I want to be; I'm not going to be that bum she sees. Whether I really was like that or not, I'm going to face the end on my feet.

And that must be why Haymitch sent the pens, not just the pills. There's enough morphling in there that I can get back on my feet, walk, even fight probably. Oh, it'll be bad for me, but I can do it and probably not feel a thing. Haymitch sent me a gift, but not the one Katniss thinks it is. It isn't so I can get away from pain, it's so I have the choice to be who I want to be. Even if all I can do is thank him in my head like this, I'll do it just the same. Thank you, Haymitch.

**Prim**

These Games are really hard to watch. I knew they would be, it's my sister there after all, but I thought I was getting used to it. I think the secret was trying really hard to not think too far ahead. If Katniss was ok at the moment, that's great. If Glimmer was helping her, that was great too. I worked really hard to not think about how the Games would end, but I can't really do that anymore though. The end is almost here, and I'm really confused.

Of course I want Katniss to win, that goes without saying; she's my sister; I love her. She's kept me safe and warm and fed for as long as I can remember. In a lot of ways she's as much a mom to me as my real mother is. But now there's a second winner that can win along with Katniss and I can't figure out what's right here. Usually it's easy for me. I don't really understand how a lot of grownups can have such trouble with what's right and wrong. It's all really obvious to me. I guess all I can do is ask someone.

I look away from the TV and over at Gale. "Gale, who are we supposed to be cheering for?"

"We're cheering for your sister, silly girl." Gale answers warmly. He always does that; finds a way to calm me down and make whatever seems scary or that worries me silly and not a big thing at all.

"I know that. I mean who else. Who for the second victor?" The warm look on Gale's face falters. It's only for a second, but I still see it. I can tell he's trying to think of an answer, but isn't finding one. I guess if he doesn't know what to say I can say more. "I'm not sure who I should cheer for. Peeta's from here, and he's nice. He's given me cookies when his mother wasn't looking. The whole loving Katniss thing was kinda weird, but Peeta's not a bad guy."

Gale nods. I think Peeta's saying he loves my sister is much more of a sore point for Gale than me. "On the other hand Glimmer's been nice to Katniss. They actually seem like friends, and I could tell Katniss really didn't want to fight her. She's not like Careers usually are. I just don't know what I should hope for."

Gale looks at me a moment longer. "Prim, just cheer for your sister. Whoever gets out with her is who gets out with her. It'll work itself out. That way you don't have to deal with maybe getting your hopes up for someone who doesn't make it, or looking a person in the eye you were hoping would be dead."

Wow, that's good advice. It's not like it'll matter what I want here. And Gale's right, if Peeta wins and I cheered for Glimmer I'm not sure I could deal with seeing him again; I'd feel so guilty. Like I was cheering against my district and hoping a guy who came home died. I probably wouldn't see Glimmer until the victory tour, but I'd still feel bad. I mean she helped my sister out a lot, I shouldn't want bad things to happen to her. I'm glad I asked Gale; I always feel so much better after talking to him.

Anything further is cut off by the TV. It's an announcement from Claudius Templesmith. "Attention tributes. Attention tributes. At dawn tomorrow there will be a feast held at the Cornucopia, and you are all invited. But in case some of you are thinking of declining this invitation, think carefully. Each of you needs something. Badly. And we are prepared to be generous hosts. Each team will find a package labeled with their district numbers on it. So think hard about refusing this most gracious invitation. It may be your last chance. Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor."

I look back at Gale. "This is going to be the end, isn't it?"

He nods stiffly at me. "Yeah Prim, I think it will be. One way or another we'll know if she's coming home by lunch tomorrow."

Wow, just like that it'll be over. I can point to a time, probably almost to the minute when my sister will either be coming home to me, or be killed. I look back to Gale again. "If you want to stay here tonight, I think it'll be ok. I'm… I think I'm going to just stay up. You know, and watch. Just in case…"

Gale reaches over and hugs me tightly. "Yeah, just in case."

**Author's Notes:**

Like always, thanks to Pinklove21 and JB. I'd love to hear from all of you, so don't hold back with comments or reviews. Thanks for reading!


	10. The Pen is Mightier than the Sword

**Disclaimer:** I don't own The Hunger Games and am making no money from this.

This story, like most Hunger Games stories I've read will be told from various points of view. As normal, I'll note when they change.

** Glimmer**

"So it looks like they plan to end it tomorrow. We should come up with some sort of a plan." I state.

"Well obviously not going isn't an option." Katniss is firm.

"Why not." I shake my head at Peeta's question.

"Uh, because you'll die!" Katniss almost yells.

"I thought you said it wasn't that bad." Hmm, he got her there. It's almost clever of him.

Katniss isn't sure what to say to that. Since she obviously doesn't want to give the blunt and obvious answer I help her out. "If they want a finale and we don't take the bait they'll just send mutts to flush us out and then we have both mutts and the other tributes to deal with."

Katniss looks at me. "So you have a plan in mind?"

"Well it all comes down to timing; whether we want to be there early or hang back till after it starts. If we're there early we might get a jump on the feast, but the Careers are going to be near there already, so we may run into them. If we wait they may already be dealing with Thresh, but it's possible they'll have gotten at our stuff."

"Running into them early is risky since they outnumber us."

"What do you mean they outnumber us?" Peeta asks.

"There's three of them, Peeta." Katniss answers.

"And there's three of us. That's even, not outnumbered."

Katniss stops and looks at Peeta. "What are you talking about? You're hurt, Peeta. You can't go. You couldn't even walk on your own to get in here."

"I can walk, Katniss."

"How?" she demands.

Peeta pulls the morphling autoinjectors out of a pocket. "With these."

"What, you're just going to drug yourself up and stagger there? That's a terrible idea! Who knows what even walking that far would do to your leg! And what would you even fight with? We don't have a lot of weapons to spare!"

"I have a knife, Katniss. It's not great, but I can manage with it. I'm no expert with a weapon like you or Glimmer are, so a knife is as good as anything else for me."

"What about your leg though, Peeta? You think you can even walk there, never mind fight on that?"

"I can manage, Katniss."

"No Peeta! It's a terrible idea! It's a bad risk to take!"

"Katniss, it's my risk to take. Good, bad, it's my decision. And I'm going."

Katniss throws her hands up and looks at me. "You talk to him Glimmer. It's a stupid idea. You tell him."

"Katniss, you're right, it may be a stupid, but he's right too; it is his life, he can decide what to do."

"Even if it kill him?"

"Katniss, listen." Peeta starts. "I know it might kill me. Staying here will kill me pretty soon too. If something goes wrong and you two don't make it I'll just be lying here waiting to die, literally. I'm not going to do that, Katniss. If I can die either way, I'd like to be on my feet and face whatever is trying to kill me."

"You've been thinking about this for a while, haven't you?" Katniss glares at Peeta.

He nods. "Ever since Glimmer told me what she thinks of me." Katniss shoots me a dirty look. "Don't be too mad at her, Katniss. She was right. I'm not proud of how everything has gone, of all the things I've done. This is my chance to change things, to actually do something I can be proud of."

Katniss slumps down, defeated. "You have any idea what to do with this then, Glimmer?"

"Well I don't think showing up early is a great idea. However Peeta manages to walk I think we can do without him trying it in the dark before dawn. We pretty much have to show up a little after dawn and hope Thresh is there and we can take advantage of some chaos." It's not much of a plan, but without knowing what Peeta can do it's the best I can come up with. We'll just have to improvise.

" I liked the Cornucopia better when we were flinging giant rocks at it." Katniss mutters.

**Peeta**

It's been a long night; for all of us actually. I know I should try to sleep, get whatever rest I can before tomorrow, but my mind just won't sit still. After all, in less than a day at least one of us will be dead, and that's the best case. Worst case is all three of us will be dead. It's a lot to think about; really makes you want to hold onto each second; there could be so few left.

Katniss wasn't any better. Even Glimmer didn't get much sleep, and she's trained for this all her life, dreamed of this night; she's one night away from being declared Victor. I guess things are different when you're actually here. None of us talk. I don't know about the girls, but there's really nothing I want to talk about. The biggest thing we have in common is these Games, and I just don't want to use up so many precious seconds on them when I can think about something else.

Eventually Katniss decides we've been here long enough. "It'll be dawn soon. We should get ready." She and Glimmer work on breakfast. It's surprisingly large for the Games. Since it's our last day here, last meal together in fact they're making all the food we have; a feast before going to the Feast.

I'm partway through the unique breakfast when I glance over at Glimmer. "I've been wondering something for a while…"

"What's that?" She asks.

"At the interview, I know you weren't wearing a bra, but were you even wearing any panties?"

Katniss instantly snaps me a dirty look. Glimmer seems unfazed though. "Absolutely not." I stare at her. She didn't even hesitate before answering. It's almost like she was gloating with it. " Hey, I'm fighting for my life here. If I can't do an interview all the way then I'm just a victim."

"Uh, well that makes sense… I guess…" I stammer lamely. Geez. Girls just don't talk that way. I figured maybe she'd be embarrassed or smack me, not answer, and certainly not an answer like that!

"Seriously Peeta? You ask that? At a time like this?" Katniss is not in a good mood.

"Well I was curious! I was up most of the night, and I tried thinking about home, about my family, about things like that, but it's hard. This place… it gets to you, gets inside your head. It seemed like no matter how hard I tried my mind kept coming back here to the Arena, to the reaping, to the Capitol… And it just seemed weird to stay silent forever. It's like a funeral."

"It basically is." Katniss points out.

"But see that's my point! It isn't! Yeah, it will be. No matter how much we may not want it to happen people are going to die. And it's going to be at least one of us, and the survivors will be sad and mourn. But right now we're all still here; we don't have to mourn yet. We can still at least act like things are normal."

"I'm sure that question was normal in an awful lot of conversations around the Capitol…" Glimmer says with a smirk. Katniss just turns her dirty look on Glimmer. "Hey, I'm just saying. But if you like if we make it out I can get you a makeover after the Games. Show you how to do your makeup, get you a good wardrobe, some skirts, some heels, oh yeah. You'll be breaking hearts, getting lots of attention; almost as much as me." Katniss rolls her eyes, but the dirty look is gone.

I see why she and Glimmer are still together; they fit together in an odd sort of way. Glimmer doesn't aim any of her hard edges at Katniss (they're saved for me apparently). Katniss just gets teased, but it's only when she really needs it; when one of her moods needs breaking. Come to think of it, they probably work great in combat together. Glimmer has her sword and apparently was good enough to handle Clove with ease and Katniss with her bow can keep Glimmer covered from further back. They're sort of like two sides of a coin. I'm glad they met in here; I'm glad Katniss hasn't had to face this place alone for a while now.

After breakfast I take another pill. Now for the part that could be truly awful. Getting away from Cato was bad; the adrenaline covered up a lot of the pain, but it was still there. Honestly, he laughed more than attacked me. Once he put a huge hole in my leg he knew the fight was over, so he just mocked me. Eventually he got bored with my staggering and stumbling away so just let me go. I guess he figured I'd bleed out and he'd get his kill eventually. Meaner to leave me alive to suffer maybe? Whatever the reason, I'll see him again soon.

Finally there's no more time to stall. I take out one of the morphling pens, take off the cap and jam it into my thigh near the wound, as per the instructions. Almost right away I can feel the pain receding. "Wow. I'd forgotten when it felt like to not have pain." Katniss smiles at me and I try standing up.

Instantly the pain shoots through me and I feel as if Cato is stabbing me again. I try to suppress a yell of pain (I think I was only partly successful) as I fall back to the ground. "Peeta!" Katniss is quickly at my side. "Don't overdo it! Glimmer and I can still go without you."

"No Katniss. I'm going to go. It'll just take a bit more than I thought." I know she's going to argue over this, so before she can I jab another pen into my thigh.

"Peeta, be careful with those…" Katniss cautions.

"I know, Katniss. They said no more than four in eight hours, I'm still at only half that." It's obvious by the look on her face she isn't happy, but it's too late now. I give the morphling a moment to work and then try standing up again. I take it slow and am a bit unsteady, but I manage to get to my feet. I try taking a few steps but as soon as I try to put weight on my bad leg Katniss has to catch me.

"Peeta! Are you ok?" She asks.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just… I can't feel my leg. With all the morphling it's numb. Like trying to walk if your leg is asleep, but way harder."

"What about if I cut you a walking stick? You think you can manage then?" Katniss asks.

"Yeah, that could work." Katniss nods and goes outside. I glance over at Glimmer who's been watching me silently the whole time, arms crossed. "Something on your mind?"

"So, you're really going to do this?"

"Yeah."

"You know what this means? How it will probably end for you?" she asks evenly.

"I know. But I've gone through these Games on my back enough."

"And to think people were expecting me to win with that strategy." Glimmer comments with a smirk.

"I figured you'd like that choice of words. But it's true too. I need to try."

Glimmer shrugs a bit. "Your life." She's right; it is.

Not long after that Katniss comes in with a freshly cut walking stick, roughly as tall as I am. I try it, and it definitely makes a big difference. "Yeah, I think this will work, thanks Katniss." I certainly won't set any speed records, but I can walk on my own power like this. Hopefully I'll get used to a numb leg by the time we get to the Cornucopia so I can actually fight.

We gather up our weapons and supplies and take a last look around the cave, making sure we haven't left anything behind. As odd as it sounds, it was our home; an odd home for an odd trio living together. It's the only home I've known in my life outside of District 12, and it was dark and uncomfortable, but I'll miss it. They say all good things must come an end, and for this stone oasis in a televised hell that time has come. The time for sentimentality is over. We need to go, and without any more delay or introspection we do just that.

**Katniss**

We aren't making great time to the Cornucopia, but I hadn't really expected big speed for this trip. Peeta's moving better than I expected; it looks like he wasn't lying about the painkillers. His issues are based on not seeing where he's walking, not pain. As more light appears in the sky he seems to be doing better; more used to the numbness, more able to see where his feet and walking stick are going, or maybe it's just more confidence in himself. Whatever it is, it'll either be enough or it won't. I can't afford to worry about it.

Three Careers plus Thresh, against that much I can't worry about anything but myself. I can't think about Peeta, I can't think about Glimmer, I can't think about Gale or Prim or home. There's no room for any of that. There's just the fight; that's all I can focus on. All those other things will have to take care of themselves.

That's not to say I won't help Glimmer or Peeta if I can, but I can't afford to make them my focus. I imagine Glimmer's thinking the same way. An arrow may come to help her here or there, but her survival will hinge on her sword. And Peeta… well, he made his choice, he has to manage as best he can. It's just that simple.

The sun's first rays shine through the trees as dawn breaks. We still aren't there yet, but we're getting close. This time won't be like our last fight with the Careers, Glimmer able to take one of them on one on one while I keep the rest pinned down.

I hear the sounds of combat ahead: steel clashing against steel; it's already begun. "Katniss." Glimmer starts. "I'll take point. You follow, try to stay about twenty yards behind. Peeta, bring up the rear, as fast as you can. When we get there we try to take them one at a time if we can. Do what you have to to stay alive." She doesn't wait for an answer before increasing her pace to a run. I watch her, giving her five paces before breaking out into my own run.

**Glimmer**

It takes me a matter of seconds to reach the clearing with the Cornucopia. The Careers are already engaged with Thresh. Or rather Vera, the girl from District 4 is engaged with Thresh, Cato and Marvel seem to be mostly watching and taking the odd cheap shot at Thresh. It's obvious that it was a three on one at some point based on the extensive injuries Thresh is sporting, but he's still on his feet with a scythe in his hands.

Cato, sword in hand and shoulder apparently healed along with Marvel holding his spear are watching and laughing. It might be directed at Thresh mainly, but I can't help but think some of their scorn is for Vera. She has an axe in each hand and is holding her own against Thresh, but I don't see her having won more respect from Cato and Marvel than she had when I was with the alliance. She always was too nice, too normal to fit in with a group that had Cato and Clove at its head.

I watch Vera and Thresh parry and thrust back and forth. I don't want to rush into this without Katniss to back me up; Cato and Marvel are too far from the tree line where I am, and there's no way I can handle both of them at once.

Thresh is a powerful opponent, but his injuries are getting to him; I can see he's slowing down. Vera sees it too. Thresh is sloppy parrying one of her axes and leaves himself open. Her other axe swings, cleaving deep into his chest. Thresh yells out in pain and falls backwards.

**BOOM**

Thresh's lifeless body hits the ground, still dragging his scythe with him. Vera thinks it over and doesn't see the scythe's blade coming at her from behind. It digs into her left arm. She shrieks in pain, dropping her other axe.

"Awe, looks like someone wasn't very careful, were they?" Cato derides. Vera holds her bleeding arm and looks back at Cato. "I figured you'd be the weakest. Three's a crowd and all that. You know how it is." Vera never gets a chance to respond with any final words. Cato stabs her through the heart.

**BOOM**

I feel Katniss tap me on the shoulder. I wasn't more than a few dozen yards ahead of her. The whole thing took just seconds. I pull my gaze away from the battle to look back at Katniss. "It's just Cato and Marvel now." She nods and we step into the clearing.

**Katniss**

It doesn't take long for Cato and Marvel to notice us; I guess that's what happens when people are waiting for you. Cato looks at us with the same fake grin of a Capitolite hosting a party. "Ah look Marvel, we have guests! Fire girl and the traitor. Shame they left the cripple behind, but oh well. It'd be greedy of us to expect **every** tribute to just line up for death so politely." Wow. Peeta and Glimmer managed to stay in an alliance with this guy for how long? I'm impressed. "Marvel, would you be so kind as to entertain your district mate? I think I'd like to have a little dialogue with fire girl."

Glimmer and I split, her heading left and I right. Marvel matches her move and the two approach each other. It's the last glance I spare either of them for now; my focus is all on Cato. He grins, approaching me. It's a sick, maniacal grin. I'm not sure if he's playing it up for the cameras or if he's not all there. Either way, it doesn't matter.

The way he's casually swinging his sword means even if part of him isn't here, the part that knows how to kill is. The part of him still here also seems to be a creative killer; parts of the hard plastic crates that once held the Careers' supplies are hanging all over him, held together with rope and string. It looks comical in a way, debris and scraps all over him, but I'm not laughing. As ugly as it is, it's still serviceable armor, and I have no idea if it'll stop an arrow or not.

We're still far enough apart that I have a chance to find out. I stop and raise my bow, arrow already nocked. As soon as Cato sees my weapon come up he breaks out into a sprint. I pull the arrow back, trying to keep my breathing under control and my aim steady. Cato's almost on me, charging like a bull. I set the aim point over the center of his chest and let my arrow fly, finally releasing the breath I'd been holding.

The arrow is perfectly on target: straight at Cato's heart. It hits exactly where I wanted to, and exactly as Cato wants, it bounces off the improvised armor covering his chest. He's still coming and I don't have time to draw another arrow. I should have aimed for his head; it's a smaller target, a much harder shot, but it could have been worth the chance. I played it safe and now I don't get a second chance. All I can do is swing my bow to block the sword swing he's already started.

It isn't pretty, but it manages to do the job. Cato's sword isn't coming for me anymore thanks to my improvised block, but he still is; Cato hasn't let up a bit and barrels into me, full speed. I fall backwards, Cato awkwardly falling on top of me. My head hits the ground with enough force that I almost black out. Cato lands on top of me, and with my body to cushion his fall he's in a much better position than I am. I try to sit up and then it hits me. My left hand is resting on the grass, not holding my bow like it should be.

**Glimmer**

Marvel and I are facing off in an odd sort of slow fight. He's using his spear like a pole arm, keeping me at range so he can jab and swing with it. At this distance I can't reach him with my sword, but his attacks aren't hard to parry and dodge either. It's a classic engagement with these weapons; I've fought this matchup hundreds of times at the Academy and I'm sure he has too. This fight will be determined in one move; whoever messes up or gets distracted first loses. Either I'll miss one of his attacks and find a spear through me or I'll get in too close for him to use his weapon and cut him down.

"You turned on us, Glimmer that's not very nice. We don't like traitors." Marvel taunts. All it takes is one moment's distraction, and verbal sparring can make that happen as much as our blades can.

"Awe, I didn't hurt your feelings did I? I'd hate to have made you cry."

"I'd never cry over a weakling like you, Glimmer."

"But you cry for other things?" That one gets me a look of annoyance. Not enough yet, but a step in the right direction.

"So how'd you convince her to team up with you? Some pretty speech or are you slutty and into girls enough that you sealed the deal with her?" I give him a dirty look.

"What's the matter, jealous? Two hot girls going at it and none for you? Or maybe you're the sort that likes to watch?"

"I get all the girls I want!" He's getting angry now.

"Geez, defensive! What's the big deal? It's not like you're covering for the fact you're into boys or something, right?" He growl and attacks recklessly; I've got him.

I'm slow parrying Marvel's next attack. If he was thinking straight he'd realize there's no reason my parry should be off, but he's too angry to see it; he just redoubles his attack. His spear thrust is meant for an off balance girl, but instead I'm ready. His killing blow hits nothing but air and he overextends himself. I slip past the tip of his spear and bring my sword around in a wide arc, burying the blade into his left side. It slides between his ribs and into the organs behind them. I pull my blade free and Marvel falls to his knees, clutching his wounded side, all thoughts of his spear forgotten.

"You bitch." he seethes, coughing up blood; my blade obviously hit his lung.

"Oh please. We're both Careers; we both knew going in how this would end. And frankly, you wouldn't have beaten Cato or Clove either. Sorry, but you were never really in the running to win."

He stares at me with pure hate, but it's too late to matter. I raise my blade high; dragging it out any more would just be making him suffer needlessly. I bring my blade down; his head hits the ground, his corpse falling beside it a moment later.

**BOOM**

**Katniss**

I've scampered away from Cato, first sliding awkwardly backwards on my butt and then when I opened up some distance I'm back on my feet. Cato just watching me, this sickening grin on his face. I draw my knife and he just laughs, like he doesn't have a care in the world. Honestly, it's probably not far from the truth. My bow is on the ground at his feet, and he still has his sword in his hand.

"Well fire girl, shall I guess how you got that 11 in training? Hmm, let's see… Was it your charming personality? No? Perhaps your looks? Hmm, I doubt that. Maybe you're a master with that knife? Somehow I doubt that one too. Now I wonder… Could it have been with a bow? Like the one on the ground right here?"

"Go to hell" I snarl at him.

"Hmm, well that rules out the charming personality. And looks, well… no offense, but Glimmer's got you beat there. So I believe that leaves a knife or this bow. You had your shot with a bow, shall we test your skill with that knife? Yes, let's do just that."

He comes at me with the sword. Damn he's fast! His blade is practically everywhere and it's all I can do to keep just far enough away to not be skewered. I keep backing, trying to keep my knife between myself and Cato, but it's useless; he isn't intimidated at all, and I've got no real training with a knife. I can use it against wild animals, or to skin and clean them after the kill, but I don't have the first clue how to use a knife to defend myself against a sword.

All I can do is keep trying to get away. Unfortunately, I don't dare turn my back to try and run; I'd never get even one step. Walking backwards as fast as I can is the best plan I can muster. It's a fine plan that's going well (not really, it's a plan that consists entirely of running away, but you get the point) until I back into something hard. I hazard a quick glace behind me to find I've backed out of the clearing and straight into a tree.

Cato laughs. "Well running away isn't what got you that score either. You know, I'm starting to think you're overrated. What do you think?"

"Go fuck yourself." Lame last words if ever I heard some.

"My, my, such language. Well if you aren't going to even talk nicely I suppose we'll see how you are at dying." The mirth and mocking attitude leave Cato completely. The heartless cold killer takes over and his sword streaks straight at my chest.

I'm shoved aside, all the way to the ground. When I look back up I see Peeta with Cato's sword through his stomach. Cato stares at him and wears a look of disbelief. "Lover boy? What the hell are you doing here?"

"What I meant to do all along. I'm saving Katniss."

"Seriously? I'll kill her right after I kill you. You haven't saved a god damned thing!"

"Yes I have. You just don't get it yet."

Cato growls and sinks his sword further into Peeta, but Peeta seems to barely feel it. "Oh sorry Cato, did I forget to mention just how much morphling I'm on right now? I can barely feel that at all." Cato blinks, staring at Peeta slack jawed. Suddenly Peeta's arms come up and take hold of the sword's grip, covering Cato's hand. Peeta pulls hard, forcing the blade further into himself.

"What the hell are you doing?" Cato demands, trying unsuccessfully to get his hand off the sword.

Peeta turns to me. "Hurry Katniss! Get your bow! There isn't much time!"

I break out of my stupor and run for my bow; it's only a few strides away. I pick it up and nock an arrow, taking fast aim at Cato. He's still struggling with Peeta, but not so much I don't have a clean shot. I pull the arrow back and aim, for Cato's head this time. He looks back in my direction, but it's too late.

I let my arrow fly. It streaks for its target, passing through Cato's left eye, burying itself in his skull. Cato stands frozen, and for a moment I'm afraid even that somehow won't be enough to bring down this monster. Time stands still and I watch, waiting to see if the fight is really over or not. The moment shatters when a blade swings down on top of Cato's head, burying itself nearly to the base of his neck. Finally Cato falls and I see Glimmer panting, holding the sword that just went through Cato's skull.

**BOOM**

I open my mouth to say something, but before I can I see Peeta fall to the ground as well, Cato's blade sticking obscenely out of his abdomen. I run over to him. "Peeta! Peeta!" I kneel down by him, cradling his head in my lap.

He looks up at me with tired eyes. "Katniss… Are you ok?"

"I'm fine Peeta."

"Is it over?"

"It's over." Glimmer confirms, standing above me. "It's just the three of us left. We did it; we won."

"That's good… I'm glad." Peeta sounds so tired.

"Peeta.." I start. "Why'd you do that? Didn't you know what would happen?"

"I knew, Katniss. I knew as soon as I decided to come to the feast how it would end. But I had to do it."

"Why?"

"I couldn't sit and be useless anymore."

"Peeta…" I just don't know what else to say. "It's going to be ok, just hang on."

"Katniss, I already lost a lot of blood from my leg. As soon as this sword comes out it's going to be all over."

"Don't talk that way!"

"It's ok, Katniss. I told you, I knew it would end up like this. I came anyway."

He reaches into his pocket, pulling something out. I gasp at what I see. "Peeta, no! You can't!"

**Haymitch**

The official feed of the Games has gone to a split screen, one side is the live feed of the end of the Games, the other a live crowd shot. The crowd is divided up into two camps, the so called Team Peeta and Team Glimmer. (Who the hell comes up with these dumb names anyway?) The flood of merchandise has only increased. Shirts, banners, jackets, jerseys, every damned thing under the sun, peddled by the thousands. More maybe. Caesar claims there's over a hundred thousand assembled out there watching.

The crowd is silent, staring at the screen, seeing the same thing I am on the other screen: a close up of Peeta's hand, holding a half dozen morphling autoinjectors. Way more than is required for a lethal dose.

"Peeta, you can't. You'll die." Katniss' voice comes over the Games feed.

"That's going to happen either way, Katniss."

"They can heal you! The Capitol doctors, they can heal you."

"It's not that simple, Katniss. Two people leave, not three. I'm not going to make you choose, and I'm certainly not going to let you die just so I can live. I thought this through Katniss. It's best this way. I was able to do something that matters, you don't have to pick who dies, and you get live. You get to go home to Prim."

Katniss is starting to tear up now; a lot of the crowd is outright crying. "It's better this way, Katniss. I'll just go to sleep." Peeta continues. "I really did mean it you know. That I love you that is. It wasn't just an act for TV."

"I know, Peeta" Katniss states. Well, I guess that's as good as he's gonna get out of sweetheart.

He looks up at princess; the two just nod at each other. Guess that's their goodbyes. He looks back to Katniss. "Goodbye, Katniss. I love you."

"Goodbye, Peeta." He uncaps the autoinjectors, gives Katniss one last look and then jams them all into his thigh. His eyes get heavy and close; his chest rises and falls slowly one last time then stills.

**BOOM**

The Mentor Room, as well as the crowd are dead silent. Even the commentators on TV are quiet. All that's left now is to declare the girls winners (yeah right) or announce they're getting fucked. The silent moment passes and the crowd starts changing from somber to uneasy. The feed of the crowd has audio (I guess they thought it'd be more dramatic or some shit) and now it's picking up shouts. "Why don't they declare a winner?" "What are they waiting for?" "It's over! End it already!"

Looks like the Capitol's about to get an education in what being a dick looks like. I wait for the announcement that the new rule is toast and the girls will have to fight to the death, but then something else happens entirely. "They lied to us! They're only going to let one live!" It rings out like a bell, rising above the discontented murmurs of the crowd. You can't tell where it comes from, but it's quickly picked up by other people. It spreads like a virus, infecting everyone.

The mood turns dark almost instantly. Tears are replaced with angry yells of "The Games are fixed!" and "They were never going to let either team win!" and my personal favorite "They lied to us!" This shit's getting ugly and then suddenly it hits me: this pure unique lucid moment of revelation (It's like a weird super condensed moment of sobriety. I'm glad this doesn't happen often) This crowd is about to riot. A riot. Here. In the fucking Capitol. I'd have bet a lifetime supply of booze I'd never see anything like this, but it's about to happen, and happen on live TV for all of Panem to see.

Before the crowd (well, now a mob really) can get going on all the good shit (like mob violence) Claudius Templesmith's voice comes over the TV feed and loudspeakers for the crowd to hear. "Ladies and Gentlemen! Ladies and Gentlemen! I am pleased to present the winners of the 74th annual Hunger Games! I give you Glimmer Aurum and Katniss Everdeen, tributes from Districts 1 and 12."

The crowd breaks into wild cheers, all previous thoughts of delicious violence lost (Damn! I wanted to see shit set on fire!) In the arena Glimmer rests her hand on Katniss' shoulder. "Come on, Katniss, it's over. It's time to go."

A hovercraft materializes above them and two ladders are lowered. Katniss takes a last look at Peeta's body before getting up. The two each take hold of a ladder and are frozen in place. Seriously, Capitol? You can't trust someone to climb a fucking ladder? What the hell? How many people did it take to invent this shit? How much time was spent solving that difficult life issue of climbing a ladder being too much fucking work?

The final shot of the Games is the two girls being lifted into the hovercraft. The feed fades to black. The Games are over; the games are about to begin.

**Author's Notes:**

This was a much harder chapter to write than I expected. I'm not great at writing action scenes, and this was an action heavy chapter. Rather than avoid it, I figure you learn by doing. I hope it came out good enough. Also Peeta's final moments and goodbyes. What does a person in that situation say? What do people around them say?

Now there's a few chapters left of post-game show and so on, but I think at this point it's safe to ask what people think about a sequel. Specifically, is there any interest in one? On the off chance anyone actually answers 'yes' I'd love to hear from you and what you may or may not like in a potential sequel.

Like on all the rest of this story, my thanks to Pinklove21 for all her help, and I'd love to hear from readers in comments or reviews. Thanks for reading!


	11. The Man Behind the Curtain

**Disclaimer:** I don't own The Hunger Games and am making no money from this.

This story, like most Hunger Games stories I've read will be told from various points of view. As normal, I'll note when they change.

** Glimmer**

I wake up slowly. I'm groggy and confused. I remember the Games; I remember killing Marvel, cleaving Cato's head in two. He probably was already dead, but I wanted to make sure. I remember Peeta's death. I remember Katniss and I being declared Victors, and I remember the hovercraft. I also remember some ass jabbing me with a needle. So where am I then?

I look around, finding cold gray plastic, generic looking cabinetry and some guy I never met sitting in a chair. Blonde haired, about a week's worth of stubble on his face and a suit that looks entirely too normal for him to be a Capitolite.

"Finally awake, princess?" he asks me.

"Who are you?" I demand.

"The name's Haymitch Abernathy."

The name's familiar. I think back where I could have heard it, and suddenly I have it. "I've heard of you. You won the second Quarter Quell. You're District 12's mentor; Katniss' mentor."

"Yeah, that's right."

"So what, my mentor didn't like me enough to show up herself?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Hmpf. Figures. So why am I here anyway? I wasn't in bad shape. And where's Katniss?"

"Easy there, princess. Just relax. It's standard shit. Every Victor gets put through a treatment, removes all the scars, blemishes and all that; make you nice and perfect. And Katniss is next door. Took a bit longer to clean her up so she isn't awake yet."

"Great! So we collect Katniss then it's just the interview, collect my crown and enjoy the good life." I grin. It's over. All that hard work finally paid off. Just glory left now. Life is good.

Haymitch shifts in his seat. "Well, let's not get too far ahead of ourselves, princess."

"Why not? And what's with calling me princess?"

"I call everyone things. You're a princess; you teamed up with a real sweetheart."

"Uh huh. So what's with the attitude? This because I made it out and your other tribute didn't?"

Haymitch puts a finger to his lips and them waves the finger in a circle. I'm sure it's supposed to have some deep and secret meaning, but I sure don't know it. "There'll be time for that later. Get dressed and we can go see if sweetheart is awake." He gestures to a table nearby where a set of clothes is neatly folded. I wait for Haymitch to leave (I'm out of the Games, I don't plan to let the whole world watch me every minute every day anymore.) and then I get dressed.

It's just the same sort of clothes they issued us going into the Games, but it'll do for now. I can worry about fashion once I get out of this hospital. I put on the rather drab outfit (seriously, they can't leave something better? This is what a tribute wears, not a Victor) and join Haymitch outside.

**Katniss**

The sound of a door closing wakes me, but not quite all the way. I'm still a bit groggy, even though I'm with it enough to open my eyes. The first thing I see is Glimmer smiling at me and almost immediately afterwards hugging me. "We did it Katniss! We won! We're out!"

I'm not really much of a hug person, but that's certainly good enough to qualify for an exception. I wrap my arms around Glimmer, hugging her. She's right, we did make it. We're free of this Capitol horror. A bit of being interviewed and shown off and then it's all over.

"Come on, Katniss, get dressed and let's get out of here." Certainly sounds like a plan to me. Glimmer lets me go and heads out into the hallway with Haymitch, who hasn't said anything but I can still practically see the raincloud over his head. What's he got to be grumpy about? He should be happy. After all, I won; I'm safe now.

I get dressed in the almost laughably inappropriate clothes and join Glimmer and Haymitch out in the hall. Haymitch nods to elevator doors at the end of the hall and we go in that direction. It turns out this hospital is somewhere deep underground beneath the training center we lived in before the Games. We push the buttons labeled 1 and 12; Glimmer's floor and mine.

It doesn't take long to reach Glimmer's floor. The doors open and she turns to me. "I'll see you later Katniss." With a wave she steps out and the doors close. I try hard not to look at the other numbers as we go up. They may be floor numbers, but they're also so much more. Each one is two people, many of whom I knew. I close my eyes and try to block out the memories of each. I hope they'll fade over time, but I'm not sure I'll be that lucky. For the first time I start to wonder if Haymitch isn't just a disgusting drunk, but maybe he drinks to try and escape his past; a past that's all too similar to my own now.

The elevator beeps as it reaches our floor, startling me out of my train of thought, thank god. Comparing myself to Haymitch isn't a line of thinking I like. I barely take a step off the elevator before Effie has me lucked tightly in a hug. "Oh Katniss! I knew you could do it! I'm so proud of you! It's such a wonderful accomplishment, both for you and for your district!"

I awkwardly hug Effie back. She's as high strung as ever, but it doesn't really bother me as it used to. Maybe because I know I'm leaving this hell, not on my way in anymore. She finally lets go and now it's Cinna in front of me. "Congratulations, Katniss." His voice is as soft and comforting as ever. He even has the decency to shake my hand. I really didn't want another hug; he always seems to know just what I need.

"Thanks you, both of you. I'm glad to be back, but um, is it ok if I get something to eat and maybe change? I really could use some real food and some clothes that don't look like they're from the Arena?"

"Yeah sure, that's fine Sweetheart." With Haymitch's permission I start rattling off what I want to eat to an avox in the dining room. I don't even really think about it, I just start naming foods I like, and after days in the Games it's not hard to come up with a lot that sounds tasty. Finally after I run out of food to ask for the avox heads to wherever it is avoxes get food from around here and I go back to my bedroom.

The closet here is huge, but huge or not, it's still a Capitol closet, which means most of what's in it is so absurd no self respecting person would be caught dead wearing it. It's surprisingly hard to find a normal pair of pants and a shirt, but eventually I find something that works. It's not exactly what I wear back home, but it's reasonably close. I'm at least starting to look like the old Katniss. I'm not sure if I'll ever actually be the same old Katniss that I was, but trying to be seems like it'll be my job for a while now. After all, Victors don't go to school or work, and we have more money than we could ever hope to spend, so I need something to fill my time, and despite the huge new house I'll get, trying to be as normal as possible sounds like a very find plan indeed.

Satisfied with my clothes, I head back to the dining room. Some of the first food is coming out now (I think Effie called them appetizers.) Whatever they are they're small little dishes that don't do a lot to fill me up, even if they are tasty. Doesn't matter though, I've got lots more coming.

I've more or less finished up the little appetizer things when the elevator dings and the doors open. Glimmer walks out with an arm full of clothes. "Uh, hi?" I greet her. "What's with the clothes?"

"Didn't much like the attitude downstairs so I was figuring I'd stay up here."

"Didn't like the attitude? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Practically the first thing out of their mouths downstairs was how I didn't win like a 'real Career'. Had to practically cheat and team up with some loser and betray my own in the process. Real welcoming stuff. Guess it's no surprise, none of them even bothered to be there when I woke up after all."

"Oh." I reply rather lamely. "I can see how that might not be good." Personally I don't really care about credit, but I guess if I'd trained all my life like she has I might feel different.

"So is it cool if I stay here?"

"Um, sure." I don't really know if it's allowed or not, but I've got no problem with her staying here.

"Great!" she smiles at me. "You eating?" Glimmer puts her clothes down on a couch and sits down at the table. "Looks like you have enough to share."

I look around the table, finally seeing how much I really ordered. It's enough to feed my family for a week, maybe more. I might have overdone it just a bit. "Um, sure. Grab a plate."

Glimmer sits down and starts eating. Not long afterwards Cinna sits down at the table with us. "Oh, Cinna, hi." I greet him. "Glimmer, this is Cinna, my stylist."

"Ah, you made the fire outfit? Cool. I'm Glimmer, glad to meet you." Glimmer shakes Cinna's hand.

"A fan of my work?" Cinna asks with a hint of a smile.

"Well, now; not so much at the time."

"Why?" I ask.

Cinna answers before Glimmer can. "There's only so much attention to go around, and attention paid to a girl who wasn't Glimmer was not what she wanted to see."

"Yeah. But it's ok now. So no hard feelings." Glimmer smiles at Cinna.

"Of course, I'm quite satisfied with the course events took." Seems like a bit of an odd way to put it, but Cinna's from the Capitol, so some weirdness is par for the course.

Eventually the food is all gone. I don't think I've ever eaten that much in my entire life. I can definitely get used to this sort of thing. Cinna spent the entire time watching Glimmer and I eat with this odd thoughtful look on his face. Seems like a lot of people here are like that, thinking things and saying nothing. I like Cinna, but I still miss how much more straightforward District 12 is.

"I wonder, have you girls seen the roof? It's a bit windy, but there's a very nice garden there." Cinna asks.

"The roof?" I ask.

"Yes." Cinna confirms. "Come on, I'll show you two around." Glimmer and I look at each other and shrug. Well, not like I have anything else to do. We get up and follow Cinna to the stairs. Just before we get there he stops and looks over to the living room. Apparently Haymitch has been there nursing a drink all along. "Haymitch, would you like to come? The fresh air may do you some good."

"Yes, I do believe I could use some air." Haymitch agrees and gets up. What the heck is that supposed to mean? He wants air? What's he think this place is filled with? With Gale we know what the other person is thinking even without words, but here they talk and still I have no idea what they're thinking.

It turns out there's a staircase to the roof, and just like Cinna said, there's a garden on the roof. I never actually explored much of this place when I was here last time, now I wish I had. It's really pretty impressive, not just flowers and bushes, but actual big trees too. Why is this even here? There can't be many people who ever see this. What, just someone thought it would be a cool thing to have so it's here? That sort of fits Capitol thinking from what I've seen. No thought to need or practicality, just following whims.

It may be impractical, but it really is beautiful, and Cinna seems to know it well. He leads us through the gardens to a pair of benches under a tree. It's secluded, but like he said, windy and with the wind chimes all around, not very quiet.

Cinna motions for Glimmer and I to sit on a bench and he and Haymitch sit on the bench facing us. Haymitch leans in towards us. "All right, this is a safe place, so now we need to talk."

"Safe? What the heck is that supposed to mean? Neither of you two are making any sense. Heck, you've been acting weird ever since we got out of the games. What's going on here?" I ask.

"Easy sweetheart, keep your voice down. We're safe here, but if you start shouting they'll hear us."

"Safe? From what? And who will hear us?"

"Them. The Capitol. Snow. This whole thing is a setup to keep the Districts in line. Haven't you figured that out yet?"

"Gale goes on like that, it doesn't make it true though."

"No, but the fact it's true does."

"So why tell us this?" Glimmer asks.

"Because you two just graduated to a shitload of trouble." Haymitch answers bluntly. "Hate to be the one to break this to you, but your lives aren't any safer than they were a few days ago, and if you don't want people around you to drop dead you better get with the program, fast."

"Uh, you want to start from the beginning?" I ask. suddenly very afraid.

"All right." Haymitch starts. "The Games didn't go down how they liked. At first your little alliance was a novel thing, but it lasted too long; they don't want people to get ideas that the Districts can team up."

"Why not?" I ask.

"Because that can lead to rebellion." Haymitch states simply. "Now as I was saying, they didn't like it, so they planned to break you up. That's why they had that team rule right before you met bread boy. It was supposed to tear you apart, and failing that at the end they were going to change the rule to only one winner and then you get the royal fuck job."

"But that didn't happen." I say.

"Well it was supposed to." Haymitch rebuts.

"That's why there was so long a delay." Glimmer says, almost to herself, but she has my attention. I look at her, waiting for her to continue. "After Peeta died, they had his cannon, and right after that it should have ended. Either declare both of us winners or change the rule back. But neither happened; there was this long pause instead."

"That's right." Haymitch answers. "They were going to fuck you two over, but the crowd got ugly."

"Ugly?" Glimmer asks.

"Ugly." Haymitch confirms. "Actually past ugly. They were going to riot. An honest to god break shit, set things on fire and trash the town riot; and not some little shit riot either. There were a hundred thousand people in the crowd. No way there's enough Peacekeepers in the Capitol to handle that. Hell, even calling in all the Peacekeepers on Panem might not have been enough."

"I've never heard of anything like that in the Capitol before." I say.

"That's because it's never happened. But this year the crowd got all into the whole Team Glimmer or Team Peeta shit. Someone made t-shirts and banners and all kinds of crap like that. It popped up overnight; somebody made a damned fortune. And then everyone was so amped up at the end a few people started shouting that the team rule wasn't going to last and bam! Instant riot. Well, it would have been. That's why they kept the rule. No damned choice."

"Wow, lucky for us." I muse.

"Yes." Cinna says with a funny little smile. "Lucky indeed."

We all stop and look at Cinna in unison. "What the hell's that supposed to mean?" Haymitch asks.

"I'm sure you knew that rule was meant to be temporary as soon as you heard it, Haymitch. Surely you must not have thought you were the only one?" Cinna asks. "I grew up here, remember; I've seen the Games and Capitol politics all my life, and that means I see a side of the Games you don't. Yes, as you said they work to control the Districts, that's the side you see. But they are also to dazzle and amuse the Capitol citizens, and that is what I understand that you do not. So I realized if that rule was to last, it would have to be so popular that revoking it was impossible."

"You made all those t-shirts and shit!" Haymitch says, almost in awe.

"Well not all me personally. But through various friends and connections, yes; I was the guiding force. And as you guessed, yes, there were considerable profits, but that wasn't the point. The point was to make the Capitol fall in love with Katniss, Glimmer and Peeta, and more specifically make the Capitol fall in love with the two possible pairings. In effect to make them fall in love with the ideas of Katniss and Glimmer or Katniss and Peeta. It worked as well as I hoped, and soon the Capitol was divided into two teams. Once Peeta died I knew the rule would soon follow, so a few people in the crowd made sure to shout the right things and soon it was picked up and echoed."

"Aren't you worried those angry shouts or whatever they were could be traced back to you?" I ask.

"Not at all. That's the wonderful thing about mobs, once you have a mob it's like the individual ceases to exists. No one knows who did what first, or even if they did it at all."

"How did you even learn this?" Glimmer wonders.

"I'm a stylist. Controlling and directing a crowd is what I do, what I've spent all my life learning. As hard as you worked in the Academy to master weapons, to perfect your body and get ready for the Games I worked just as hard learning my craft."

"Son of a bitch." Haymitch says, with genuine surprise and awe. "Had no idea you were such a sneaky bastard."

"Um, well I appreciate all that, Cinna, I really really do, where's the part about us not being able to talk come in? And what danger are we in?" I ask.

"There's bug everywhere. Bugs as in little listening devices, like microphones and shit. The Capitol has them basically everywhere." Haymitch explains.

"What, so we can't even talk without someone listening in?" I ask.

"Relax, Katniss." Glimmer starts in. "Few days and we'll both be home, living in fancy new mansions and we can talk on the phone. Not a huge deal."

Haymitch clears his throat awkwardly. "Actually, those are bugged too. They don't have secure phone lines in there either, so you shouldn't think you can talk on those either."

"What?" I explode. "Are you serious? Well then how do I get one of those secured phone line things?"

"It's not that simple, sweetheart. Secured phone lines aren't legal you know! You can't just call the phone company and order one!"

"Well you know about them somehow." Glimmer points out.

"That's right!" I add. "You know about them, so you must know how we can get one!"

"Look, maybe we can find some way to get you two a secure line, but you're missing the point." Haymitch tries to calm me down. It isn't working.

"So make it happen." I demand.

"Fine, fine, whatever." Haymitch rolls his eyes. "But you two need to pay attention to what matters here; you two are symbols of shit Snow doesn't like, and that could cost you."

"Cost us what?" Glimmer asks guardedly.

"Look, you two are symbols of a possible rebellion; districts that should hate each other working together. And not just together, together basically against the Capitol. Hell, you as good as shelled the Capitol in the Games. And that means you two are going to be under a microscope. Anything you do that Snow doesn't like is going to have a price. And that's on top of the shit he's already going to do."

"And what's all that mean?" Glimmer demands. "What cost and what's Snow already going to do?"

"Look, I don't exactly know everything. And even if I did I wouldn't tell you right now. Snow's going to talk to you two sometime before you go home, and when he does if it looks like you know what's coming it's going to be seriously bad shit. So be patient, be surprised and don't get fucked over harder than you have to be."

I don't like that answer at all. But Haymitch says it with a real finality, the sort of tone I'm not used to hearing from the drunk. I guess for now I'll have to let it go. No wonder everyone was acting weird.

Haymitch gets up. "Look, congratulations on winning and all that shit. But sorry, you still gotta watch your cute little asses. Just how it is, so be careful."

"Yeah, thanks." Glimmer says flatly. "Better to know what you're in for I suppose."

"Even if it sucks." I add. "Guess we'll live with it. Not really any choice. But I still want that secure phone thing."

"Christ sweetheart, relax about the fucking phone. We'll make it happen somehow or other. It's not a huge deal in 12, but there aren't exactly a lot of people in 1 who can do illegal shit like that. But fine, be patient and it'll happen." Haymitch starts walking back to the stairs down. "I swear, girls and the damned phone. Gonna bitch my ear off."

I sigh deeply (and not about Haymitch). "So it's really that bad?"

"I'm afraid so." Cinna confirms. "But you can get through it. You're strong, both of you. Just take it a step at a time and I promise, things will get better, eventually."

"Listen, Cinna… Thank you for all this. I mean it. You saved, well, one of our lives. Saved us from having to kill each other. I'm not really sure how to thank you for that." Glimmer doesn't do thanks very well. But then, I don't either. I hate having to owe someone, and there's no doubt I owe Cinna a lot.

"You're quite welcome Glimmer. It was my pleasure."

"But why Cinna? Don't get me wrong, I really appreciate it too, but I don't understand why you'd go that far." I ask.

"I told you, Katniss. I'm your stylist, and it's my job to help you in any way I can, and that's what I did." He says it like it's nothing. "For now you two should just be careful not to say anything against the Capitol, play the proud happy Victors and you'll be fine." He smiles at us both and then heads back downstairs.

Glimmer and I sit in silence for a while. "Not exactly the glory I expected." Glimmer sighs.

"Regretting teaming up?" I ask.

"No. I actually like you; I haven't had someone I can just talk to like you. It's nice to have a friend, and you're really my only one. Besides, it's a bit late for regrets now."

"So what now? I don't do well with blind threats."

"I don't know." Glimmer sighs. "Us versus the world is getting kind of familiar, difference now is, we don't know who will come at us or how."

"So what, all we can do is what Cinna said, just smile and play along?"

"Seems like it."

"Not how you thought you'd go into your big day, is it?" I ask.

"No, not at all. I dreamed of being crowned Victor for so many years; it was going to be the high point of my life; proof all my work, all that time was well spent; proof I was the best, not just because I said so, but I was for real. And, well, ok, that's still true. You and I are the best, nobody can argue that. It was a lot harder than I ever imagined, but it's still true. I thought once I was crowned it would be over though, not the start of a new game."

"Well for now I'd be happy if the game left us alone and we got to just live whatever sort of normal life we're supposed to."

Glimmer nods. There's not really much else to say. Just talking all night in circles won't help; if something happens, it happens. Haymitch has made it a lot of years, so have other Victors; Glimmer and I will figure it out too. And along the way I'll actually be able to watch my sister eat her fill every meal of every day, never wear clothes that don't fit again, never be too hot or too cold, never be sick and worry if I can afford medicine or not. I went through hell for my family, if I have to do it again I will, but they can enjoy the benefits along the way this time.

**Author's Notes:**

I had originally planned the post Games material to be one chapter, but it's working out to be longer than I figured and there will be two more chapters after this one. The way the Capitol works there just aren't clean or easy endings, so Katniss and Glimmer will see a bit more before they get to go home and put the 74th Games behind them. Like always, thanks to Pinklove21 and JB, and I'd love to hear any comments or reviews. Thanks for reading!

I asked if people want a sequel and it seems the answer is yes, even for a rather niche story like this one people want to read more. If anyone wants to discuss what they'd like to see or want avoided in a sequel feel free to PM me, I'd love to hear from you. It seems like (somewhat surprisingly, at least to me) a lot of people want Glimmer's teasing of Katniss to get serious. Poor Gale, pining away at home with practically no one in his corner. I haven't decided for sure how that might go, so I'm still open to opinions.


	12. As Seen on TV

**Disclaimer:** I don't own The Hunger Games and am making no money from this.

This story, like most Hunger Games stories I've read will be told from various points of view. As normal, I'll note when they change.

** Katniss**

I wake up early the next morning; sleep wasn't kind to me. In the Games I didn't dream. Maybe it's because I was too exhausted every night, maybe because I never let myself relax enough to dream. Whatever it was is over now; I dreamt all night, and all night I endured nightmares. Events in the Games replayed, people I knew, sick versions of things that happened. It was miserable and I'm worried it's a sign of things to come. The first of my 'winnings' I suppose.

I take a shower in the absurdly complex and luxurious shower (I can't help but wonder if my house will have one, even if it is a rather silly luxury), get dressed in some of the few normal clothes in my closet and head out to get breakfast. I find Glimmer already there, dressed in what I suppose is normal for her. Short skirt, tight top with the plunging neckline and high heels. Yeah, seems like exactly what Glimmer would wear normally.

We exchange greetings and I can see she had the same sort of night as I did; there's a weariness in her eyes, the same sort I saw in the mirror a few minutes ago. By the time I get some breakfast and sit down to eat, Cinna has arrived. "Good morning. Has Haymitch told you two the basic plan for today?"

Glimmer and I both shake our heads. "Ah, that's fine. This will be your last day here in the Capitol. The recap show is this afternoon; it's live with Caesar. You'll watch a several hour recap of the Games, then the interview, finally the president will crown you each Victors and you go home afterwards. It's a busy day, and we should start getting you ready soon. So Katniss, that means you'll be with your prep team in your room, Glimmer, yours is downstairs."

"Seriously?" Glimmer's doing that thing where I can hear how blonde she is again." "I never wanted to go down there again. Why do you think I brought a bunch of clothes up here?"

Cinna shakes his head, but I can see a hint of the smile he's trying to hide. "If you insist and Katniss doesn't waste time I think her prep team may be able to take care of you as well."

"Great, thanks!" Glimmer smiles. "And Katniss will be fast, right Katniss?" She looks at me. Yep, no doubt she's getting her way on this one.

"All right, let me just finish eating." I sigh for effect.

My prep team are chipper to the point of being hyper; apparently working on a Victor is a big deal. Guess now that I'm not just some girl from District 12 I'm much more prestigious to work on and rate better treatment. But different mood or not they aren't any harder to tune out. I notice they seem happy with the Capitol's polish or whatever they called it. It doesn't mean a whole lot to me when they say it, but when they don't have to poke and prod and yank little hairs I decide I like whatever the heck it is too.

Whatever the Capitol did in that hospital, be it medicine, weird technology or some sort of black magic, it gets me through my time with my prep team faster than I've ever escaped them before. I'm not sure if I've ever thanked the Capitol for something before, but today I will.

After I've been poked and prodded, had my makeup put on and hair done my prep team finally leaves and Cinna comes in with a dress over his arm, hidden inside a garment bag. (A few weeks ago I didn't know bags for garments even existed. The things you learn in the Capitol…) "Hello Katniss." he greets me.

"Hi Cinna. More flames?"

"Something like that." he smiles. "Close your eyes." I dutifully comply and feel the dress put over me and step into heels that are quite a bit higher than I'm used to. He carefully walks me across the room and finally stops me. "All right, open your eyes."

I open my eyes and see the room's huge mirror in front of me, showing a shimmering dress that goes from burgundy to a bright orange, depending how I move and the light hits it. It's more low cut than I'd usually wear, and the bright red heels are certainly higher than I'm used to. Cinna absolutely went for a sexy look, and to my amazement I think it actually sort of works for me. "Wow. I didn't think I could actually pull off a dress like this. This is amazing, Cinna." I move around a bit, watching the colors play across the gown.

"I'm glad you like it, Katniss. Since you'll be up there with Glimmer it was rather obvious I would have to go in a somewhat more aggressive direction to fit in."

"Ah, that explains the heels." I muse. Cinna simply chuckles.

**Glimmer**

Katniss' prep team is pretty similar to my original one; weird people some of whom barely even look human and chatter on about things I could care less on. Don't get me wrong, they know how to do their jobs, but they're just too weird for my taste. Odd fashion choices are one thing, but there's looking weird and not even looking human anymore. Fortunately my natural beauty doesn't need much work and they're gone quickly enough.

A few minutes later Cinna comes in carrying my outfit for today. "Hello, Glimmer. I have your dress, though I must admit I didn't think you'd actually so dislike your situation that I'd be your stylist, so I'm afraid the best I can do on such short notice is to reuse the dress from your interview. Not at all original, I know, but your stylist is rather upset with you. He wouldn't even give me your measurements to try and work something up in time."

"Geez, bitter much." I mutter. "It's fine, Cinna, thanks. I know I didn't give much notice. I just didn't like their attitude. It's like I didn't earn the win or wasn't a real Career as far as they're concerned." I roll my eyes. They're lucky we weren't in the same arena; I'd show them real fast who's for real and who isn't.

"I understand. I'm glad you're able to find a home here, temporary as it is. And I'm glad you get along so well with Katniss. Friends are important in life after all."

"Yeah, they are." Cinna smiles and hands me my outfit for the night. I get dressed (which considering this outfit doesn't take long at all) and head out to the living room to meet Katniss.

Katniss is in a dress I never thought I'd see her wear; it's shiny and captures all the colors of fire as she moves. It definitely fits the theme she's had, but also is sexier than I've seen her wearing before. "Wow, looking good there, Katniss. I'm impressed."

"Um, thanks." She answers, trying not to blush too much. I'm guessing it's not just me, no one's ever seen her looking like this. "That's a sexy look for you, though the blush is kind of cute…"

"Oh shut up." she replies, blushing more.

"All right, listen up." Haymitch interrupts. He's in a suit, actually clean shaven and his hair looks like it actually can be shown in public. He must have spent all day with his own team of stylists. Maybe more than one team actually… "Here's the drill. We all go downstairs; the show's in the same place the interviews were, out front. First they'll introduce the prep teams, then the stylists, escorts, mentors and then finally you two. You just sit on stage, smile, and try to be charming. It'll be a few hours of recap of the games, then an interview. Finally Snow comes and gives you your crowns. Any questions?" Seems simple enough to me; everyone else too, since there's no questions. With the explanation out of the way, we get into the elevator and head downstairs.

**Katniss**

We reach the ground floor and find several people already there; from the look of them I'm guessing they're Glimmer's old prep team, her stylist and mentor. The prep team seems similar to mine, which is to say weird looking Capitolites that are freakish and colorful to me. Her stylist has greasy hair in a comb over style and wears clothes that are far too tight and garishly colored. The overall effect is pretty effeminate; I think he's what Gale would call a 'girlie man'. Glimmer's mentor looks in a lot of ways like an older Glimmer. Tall, well endowed, blonde hair, hazel eyes, but her attitude is where the difference is. Her smile feels fake; the whole demeanor seems like the act of a person who isn't nice, but wants to pretend they're friendly and happy; there's no doubt this woman was a textbook Career.

They look at us, the stylist and mentor obviously don't like us. The stylist sneers as us, but it's not as intimidating as he wants it to be; after all, I can beat him up, so he's just not scary at all. Glimmer's mentor gives us this malicious smile that reminds me a bit too much of how Clove could look when she was really being herself. It's no wonder Glimmer decided to stay with us on the 12th floor rather than these people.

The few minutes before the show feel like an eternity. These people, especially Glimmer's mentor (who I learn is named Cashmere) just creep me out; I don't want to be around them without a weapon in my hand. Eventually (though not as soon as I'd like) they start the show and people begin their entrances to the stage. The waiting area empties until at least it's just Glimmer and I here. Our names are called and we start the walk on stage, Glimmer taking the lead.

The lights are blinding. I may have been here before, but I feel the same grip of fear as I did last time. Glimmer has a glowing smile and waves to the crowd, totally in her element. I nervously make a small wave, which doesn't go unnoticed; I get a subtle but firm elbow to my ribs from Glimmer. I take the hint and do my best to match Glimmer's grand friendly gestures and the same sexy walk she has (I think the waves work, the way she struts across the stage I don't think I'm up to par with).

We make our way to two throne like chairs facing Caesar's own. He stands, also waving to the crowd and greets us with a grand warm smile. "Glimmer! Katniss! Welcome, and congratulations!" The crowd applauds and cheers for a very long time, even after we reach our chairs the roar of the crowd continues to crash over us. It takes more than a minute for the crowd to calm down and we can finally sit.

When the crowd finally quiets down, we all take our seats (or thrones in Glimmer's and my case). "It's wonderful to see the two of you again." Caesar smiles. And odd as it sounds, I actually think he means it. "Just a few short days ago the idea of two victors would have been unthinkable, but now I don't believe any of us could imagine of these Games ending any other way. A brilliant twist by our beloved Gamemakers, don't you think? So popular with the fans too."

"Well I certainly liked it." Glimmer pours on her own charm to match Caesar's.

"Yeah, I certainly am glad it didn't turn out some other way." I know, it sounds lame, but I have to try and keep up in this interview too.

"I don't think anyone can." And there's Caesar helping me out. Just like in the first interviews, he's always helping out nervous kids who need it, and just like last time, I'm very glad for it. "But we can talk more about that later. First, I believe we have a recap to get to!"

The lights drop and a huge screen comes to life. It starts with the reapings, with special attention paid to Glimmer and Marvel in 1, Clove and Cato in 2, Finch in 5, Rue in 11 and Peeta and I in 12. Afterwards comes clips from the Tribute Parade, with heavy focus on Glimmer and I, and some training footage. Next is the interviews, with Glimmer, Peeta's and mine are shown in full. The training scores are the last thing they show before starting in on the actual footage of the Games.

Seeing the countdown before the Games is odd; seeing myself and the other tributes, nervous, poised to move. Even sitting in this cushy throne I can't help but feel some of the same discomfort that the Katniss on screen is feeling. The countdown reaches zero and on screen Katniss makes her move. She gets a pack, she has a knife thrown at her by Clove; she manages to block it and scamper away into the woods. I have an empty feeling deep in the pit of my stomach. I'm powerless to help Katniss on screen, and even though I know she'll be ok, I can't seem to convince my nerves of that.

The action cuts to Glimmer now. She runs for the Cornucopia, being a good Career still. Along the way she runs into the girl from 6 and they grapple for a bit before Glimmer grabs a knife off the ground and plunges it into the girl's chest. Again and again the Glimmer on screen stabs the girl. The Glimmer on the throne next to me shifts in her seat a bit and I can see the barely masked discomfort on her face.

Her first kill over with, the Glimmer on screen moves on to her next prey: the boy from 5. He's pinned against a crate and killed just like the girl from 6: knife to the chest; this time it's just a single thrust. Obviously Glimmer's getting a hold of all the adrenaline now and her training is taking over.

Finally near the end of the bloodbath Clove calls to Glimmer that there's a tribute trying to hide in the Cornucopia. Glimmer advances on her prey, and the poor girl from 9 tries to run, but she barely makes it a single step before Glimmer shoves her against the wall. She hits hard and an instant later the blood soaked dagger is in her back.

Twelve tributes killed in the bloodbath, and Glimmer killed three. I knew she'd done it, she told me, and she wasn't exactly proud of it, but seeing it is so different. I don't think I would have teamed up with her if I'd seen this at the time. She was absolutely brutal, especially the first kill. She said she wasn't proud of it, and looking at the Glimmer sitting next to me I can see that's true. I'm still glad I heard about the bloodbath rather than seeing it. Things could have gone very differently.

Now it's Peeta joining the Careers, telling them he can help find me, that his love story was all just for the cameras and he's in it for himself. It doesn't look to me like they buy it much, but they wind up taking him along anyway.

The footage cuts to the first night's hunt by the Careers, the crowd loving how close to finding me the Careers came. Glimmer looks over at me and whispers "Wait, we walked right by your tree? We actually stopped and talked right under where you were?" I give her a slightly guilty smile and shrug.

Soon enough it moves to the fire (I hate fires. And yes, I know fire is my theme now and I see the irony. I still hate them), to being treed, and to escaping with Glimmer. By now I know all the rest of what happens, and I honestly wish I didn't have to relive it. I may have had a bit of morbid curiosity about what happened to Glimmer before we teamed up, but I've seen that all now.

Watching the Katniss and Glimmer on screen meet Rue is hard, because I know what's coming next. And even though I was there, even though I was prepared, seeing her die is even harder than I feared it would be. The Capitol audience may love this show, but I'm absolutely convinced it's cruel now.

They're showing matters with Finch now. The meeting, the catapult building, speculation on what it was and if it would work, and then the firing. The crowd absolutely loves this part; I guess it was all dramatic, some golden moment in television and Games history or something. They eat up the battle right afterwards too. They even show Glimmer's kill of Clove in slow motion (Ok, that was kind of impressive in a grim sort of way, but still. I just want all this to be over.)

They don't show Finch's funeral, they didn't show Rue's either now that I think about it (and I was trying very hard not to when she was dying on screen.) I guess that's the sort of thing that wasn't too popular with the local crowd here.

There's more than a half hour of Glimmer, Peeta and I; how we got along, and how we argued. Now it shifts to things I hadn't seen: crowd shots. Haymitch wasn't kidding about the size of the crowds, and the flood of merchandise. Thousands upon thousands of people, and all with Cinna made shirts, flag, banners, accessories. It's amazing; all that for the three of us.

Honestly I'm sort of curious now. Just what is the Capitol like? What kind of city produces people like this? They're so willing to redesign themselves, not just haircuts, but color, even mutating (well more like mutilating) themselves and then there's this. So many of them just throwing money at anything to do with these Games; not just bets, but merchandise. And they go out in public and watch and cheer. Are they really that bored? Don't they have anything better to do? Do they have jobs? I wonder if they even have parents. I know no parent in 12 raises their kids to be so lost about if a thing like the Games are right or wrong; we have a better idea of what people should look like and what's attractive too. It's weird, like they aren't even the same race of people as we are anymore.

I suddenly realize I'd zoned out for most of the final battle. I'm quite glad for that; in fact; I wish I'd zoned out longer. The Katniss on screen fires her final arrow of the Games, putting it through Cato's eye, into his skull and just slightly out the back. Maybe I should feel bad for him, but I don't. There's such a thing as good kills I've learned, and he was one. After on screen Glimmer buries her sword in Cato's skull and he finally falls it's on to Peeta's final moments, yet another part of the Games I have no wish to ever relive.

Of course they play Peeta's last words in their entirety; I should know better than to expect mercy from the Capitol. I suffer through Peeta's death again, and then suddenly it's over. The pause before declaring us Victors is gone in this replay. The lights come up and the crowd applauds. I force a smile to my face before people can see me on the now brightly lit stage.

"What an amazing conclusion to a Games. There were so many memorable moments in these, surely one of the greatest Games in recent memory, and two amazing Victors!" Caesar works the crowd, dragging out the applause. Finally he sits and turns to us. "Glimmer, Katniss, so much has happened since you were last here with us, I hardly know where to begin. I suppose the most obvious place is that night with the tree. After all, you two and Peeta were all there together, just like it would be in the end. Now we all know that Glimmer had a bit more to her than she let on in her interview, so I have to ask, did you two plan all this out in advance? Were you just waiting to meet in the arena to team up, or was it as spontaneous as it looked?"

"It was totally spontaneous, Caesar." Glimmer answers. "As much as I'd love to take credit for a grand master plan, I really was just winging it there."

"Ah really. Well Katniss, we thought you may team up with Peeta after the interviews, but you're obviously more of a lone wolf than a team player. So I have to know, had you considered teaming up with Glimmer or anyone else before that night?"

"Um, no…" Great Katniss. Way to show everyone how nervous you are. I look out at the audience, and just like in the interviews, I find Cinna smiling at me, waiting for me to say more. "Actually, I hadn't talked to Glimmer at all. I thought she was just some jerk Career here only for sex appeal. Basically I totally bought into her act." I blush. The audience laughs and seems to like it.

"I think it's safe to say we all did." Caesar agrees. "Now Katniss, I have to ask you about Rue. It came as quite a surprise to us that you allied with her, and her death hit you hard. What was it about her that touched you so deeply?"

I probably should have known this question was coming, try to have some answer ready. Good job, Katniss. "Um, well, it's just that she reminded me of my sister."

"That would be Primrose? You volunteered for her, correct?"

"Yes, that's her. Rue just had this innocence to her that was so much like Prim; kike she was in this place that she should think is so horrible and terrifying but it didn't affect her at all. I tried to put home out of my mind while I was in the arena, just to stay focused on where I was and what I was doing, but with Rue it got so much harder… And when she died it was like every fear I'd ever had of my little sister dying come true. I just… lost it."

"Yes, it was a moment that touched us all. There's no doubt some people are special and their loss affects everyone." Caesar smoothly agrees. "Now moving on to the trebuchet, I have to say, it was a subject of truly fierce speculation here as to whether it would work at all. After all, no one has ever so much as attempted anything like that in the Games before, yet you both readily agreed when Finch suggested it. What was the thought process there?"

"Well, she seemed really sure it work, and we didn't have a plan of our own, so I thought it was worth trying." I answer.

"I just thought it sounded really cool and I wanted to see if it would actually work." Glimmer chimes in with a smile.

"And work it did." Caesar agrees. "And in one of the most dramatic moments we've ever seen in the Games, the land mines which we had all thought were an absolutely brilliant defense were turned against their owners. Truly an image that will stand among the greatest in any Games. The battle in the immediate aftermath was an impressive one as well. Though I must say Glimmer, both slitting Clove's throat and stabbing her in the heart? A bit of overkill perhaps?"

Glimmer looks just the tiniest bit humble, but I know her well enough to know humility isn't among her real emotions. "Well Caesar, that actually wasn't exactly how I planned it. That first swing was just meant to make her stop short and create an opening for the thrust; I never actually thought she'd just keep coming and the swing would land."

"Ah, I see. Sometimes stubbornness can be a virtue, sometimes clearly not. But as great a victory for the both of you as it was, it did not come without cost. You in particular Glimmer seemed hard hit by the loss of Finch. Why was that?"

"Well, Caesar, she wasn't exactly what I expected." She isn't really showing it, but after talking about Rue, I know how Glimmer actually feels: this is not a question she likes at all. "At first I thought she was just this helpless tribute, the sort who dies in the bloodbath usually, but she actually had guts. She didn't know how to use weapons or things like that, but she used what she did know, and like you said, no one had ever tried that before, and she did. And she actually made it work."

"Yes, she proved to be far more than any of us expected. And I appreciate your thoughts on such an obviously difficult topic for you. But the difficulties didn't end there. Very soon afterwards came the now famous rule change and the encounter with Peeta. Your previous alliances were all rather friendly, but this one wasn't. Why was that?"

"Well Glimmer didn't exactly take to Peeta. And I don't think he really trusted her either." I offer.

"He didn't deserve to be with us." Glimmer states bluntly. "I know he's from Katniss' district and all that but he hadn't done a thing in the Games, and it was getting close to the end. And, well, honestly I didn't think he deserved to win. I like Katniss, I respect her and all that; winning with her is something I'm just fine with; she's earned it. But after seeing Finch die the idea that someone who did nothing could win when a girl like that was gone didn't sit well with me at all."

"So that's why you said if were to be you and he in the end you'd have made sure there was only one Victor?"

"Well, it may sound a bit bitter, but yes. I don't like the idea that people who worked so hard and did so much could not make it and a guy who did almost nothing, at least up till then could win. I know life isn't fair and all that, but there's knowing that and there's just watching it happen in front of you when you can stop it."

"Ah, I understand. But in the end Peeta did act, and he acted to save you Katniss." Caesar transitions.

"Yeah, he did." I nod, a tear in my eye. "He saved my life. I think he really did love me…"

"A remarkable sacrifice." Caesar agrees. "And because of that you were able to kill Cato, your last opponent in the Games, and after what clearly was a very difficult and emotional farewell you were declared a Victor, along with Glimmer. Now just moments from being officially crowned I think I speak for all of Panem when I ask what are each of your plans going forward?"

Glimmer and I look at each other. It's an obvious question, but neither of us has a great readymade answer. "I just think I'll try to get back to normal life, as much as I can. I know with the house and money and all that some things will be different, but I think I'd like to try and be normal again."

Caesar nods and turns to Glimmer. "Honestly, I haven't thought about it much. I spent so many years working and dreaming of this, I never thought about what happens when the moment's over and the glory's a memory. I don't really know what I'll do. I suppose I'll move in to my new house, eat a big meal, sleep in a comfy bed and then the next day, well, I have no idea." Glimmer smiles and shrugs, the same look she's done so many times as part of the sexy empty headed blonde act.

"I know all of us look forward to seeing how you both do going forward." Caesar stands and motions for us to do as well. He faces the crowd and raises his voice. "Ladies and Gentlemen I give you Glimmer Aurum and Katniss Everdeen of Districts 1 and 12, your Victors of the 74th annual Hunger Games!"

The crowd explodes, a thunderous roar breaking over us' it's like nothing I've ever experienced. Soon the applause and cheers evolves into chanting of our names. Again and again they scream out 'Glimmer!' and 'Katniss!' It's an awesome experience. Caesar moves near us and waves to the crowd. We take the subtle hint and do so as well.

This goes on for at least ten minutes before the crowd finally loses energy and Caesar raises his hands and asks for quiet. "And now to present the crowns to our two beautiful Victors it is my great pleasure to introduce Panem's beloved leader, President Coriolanus Snow."

The crowd applauds again (though not nearly as much as for Glimmer and I) and President Snow walks onto the stage, followed by two children, each carrying a glittering golden tiara resting on lush purple pillow. He walks to Glimmer, gives her a long look in the eye and then takes the first crown, places it on her head and congratulates her. I expect the crowd to applaud, but they don't; for the first time they are totally restrained.

Next he comes to me. I've never gotten a good look at the man before; just a few shots on TV or in the distance at the tribute parade. The first thing that I notice are the eyes; his eyes are cold, cold to the point of being dead; no warmth, no emotion, and no trace of humanity. He stares me in the eye, sizing me up as I do the same to him. This man is a predator, and an alpha predator at that. It's not often I'm intimidated but I have to confess, I find this man more than a little unsettling. He looks totally normal at first glance but this is the most absolutely inhuman being I have met in the Capitol.

He finally breaks eye contact with me and takes the Victor's crown, carefully placing it on my head. "Congratulations" he says to me, his voice completely calm. His breath reeks of blood, and even though the white rose on his lapel tries to conceal it, instead somehow only adds to the monstrously inhuman presence of the man. I don't even think of responding to him before he turns and walks away. Only now that he has completed his work does the crowd again come to life with their cheers.

"Thank you President Snow!" Caesar calls, enhancing the crowd's cheers. I feel like cheering as well, though not in support of the man but in support of his leaving. Caesar comes over and puts and arm on each of our shoulders as an army of photographers rushes the stages. He seems completely calm, so I assume this is planned.

We spend the next eternity being photographed (I think someone with a watch on would call it closer to an hour, but since I don't have one I'll stick with eternity). Hundreds of photographers, hundreds of cameras, every angle, front, side, high, low, several angles at once, they do it all. Glimmer eats it up, posing every time; she obviously knows exactly how to do it too. I try to match her, but I'm sure I look like a rank amateur.

Finally Caesar steps in to end it all. "Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you very much for joining us here today and all during the Games, thank you to President Snow and once again congratulations to our two amazing Victors, Glimmer and Katniss! And remember, they'll be backs here again in six short months for the Victory Tour and the reading of the Quarter Quell card! So I'll see you all again soon! Thank you and good night Panem!"

Caesar leads us off stage, waving. Glimmer smiles as brightly as I've ever seen, also waving. She's worked all her life for this, I can't blame her. I wave too with a genuine smile, though for me it's because I've just started my trip home. From here I go straight to the train and home; it's finally almost over.

We're backstage and about to go our separate ways (I even think Caesar plans to wish us well. It's odd, but I think he really would mean it too) when a Peacekeeper approaches us. "Glimmer Aurum. Katniss Everdeen. The president wishes to speak with you in private. Come with me." It's not a request. Glimmer and I look at each other and have no choice but to follow.

**Author's Notes:**

Sorry this is quite a few hours late, I got sidetracked last night.

Wow, the post Games part of the story has really ballooned. Originally I thought it would be a single short chapter, maybe 3000 words only (the average chapter length in this story has been about 5000) and now it's expanded to three chapters. The next one should be the final chapter in this tale, however. I hope you've all been enjoying it and will enjoy the upcoming final chapter. Thanks to Pinklove21 and my friend JB for all their help and I'd love to hear any comments and reviews. Thanks for reading!


	13. Snowblind

**Disclaimer:** I don't own The Hunger Games and am making no money from this.

This story, like most Hunger Games stories I've read will be told from various points of view. As normal, I'll note when they change.

** Katniss**

The Peacekeeper leads us through a labyrinth of hallways and doors; I'm long past the point of having any idea where we are or how to escape it. After who knows how long the Peacekeeper stops and gestures to a door. I guess we're here. Glimmer and I exchange a look and then open the door and go inside.

The rather common looking door leads to an office that's surprisingly ordinary. It's certainly nice, pretty wood furniture, a plush looking carpet, but nothing here is extraordinary or over the top. It's not a room that looks like it belongs in the Capitol at all. Everything here is quality, but it's the sort of quality that could be seen almost anywhere. I'm sure even some of the richer merchants in District 12 could have furniture like this in their homes. Despite being warmly lit, the room is cold; colder than anyone should find comfortable, but President Snow seems fine.

Snow sits at the desk with his elbows on the table, fingers interlaced, resting his chin on top. He looks at us with those cold, dead eyes and the frigid room seems even colder. "Miss Aurum, Miss Everdeen. Please sit." he states. We obey (of course) and he simple sits and watches us for a bit before continuing. "It was a rather eventful Games for the two of you; several extremely unusual happenings in fact. Your alliance in fact is a first I believe; Districts 1 and 12 simply do not cooperate in such a manner. So I am curious, how did this come about?"

"It's like we said in the interview. It was just a spontaneous thing. I thought I had a better chance to win with her than in the pack." Glimmer answers.

I nod. "And obviously going with her was better than taking my chances in a tree."

"And yet you stayed together, even outside the Games. In fact Miss Aurum even moved up to the 12th floor of the Training Center, did you not?"

Glimmer nods. "Yes, I did."

"And why is that?"

"I didn't like the people on my floor." Glimmer answers simply. Snow stares at her, the silence drawing out. Finally Glimmer blinks first. "They didn't think much of how I won and wouldn't be quiet about it. I was going to either get in a fight and try to kill someone or leave. So I chose to leave."

"Yes, how people get along is important, particularly to me, as you can imagine. And in that regard the two of you have become rather troublesome."

"I don't understand." I say.

"Hmm, I expect not." I'm not sure what that means, but I don't like how it sounds. "Your… antics in the Games have given rise to some rather disruptive reactions in the Districts, particularly 5 and 11. And since these disruptions are a direct result of your actions, responsibility for them rests on you both."

"But we don't even know what these effects are." I try to protest.

"Nor will you. Your understanding is not relevant; your compliance is. And to that end you will both do two things: First, in public, particularly on the Victory Tour you will be happy and supportive of Panem, the Capitol and myself in every way. Second, you are both expected to participate in appointments when requested to do so."

"What's an appointment?" Glimmer asks.

"Ah, I'm delighted you asked my dear. An appointment is a private meeting with certain Capitol citizens. Now you need not concern yourself with who these citizens are or how they are selected, what you should concern yourself with is how you are to conduct yourselves at these appointments. Simply put, you are expected to 'entertain' them."

"You can't be serious." Glimmer gasps.

"I am completely serious." He replies, the calm in his voice never wavering.

"You expect us to sleep with them? Absolutely not!" There's no way I'll do this, I don't care who gets one of these appointments!

"You are of course completely free to decline these appointments, but like everything in life, there are consequences. For instance if Miss Aurum were to refuse, well, District 1 is safe, but still, crime exists. Who knows, something may happen to one of her parents one night. It would be truly tragic if a place such as that, so beautiful was to be sullied with death. And you Miss Everdeen, I believe your mother's health is not the best. And your dear young sister, well, District 12 is not known for its long life expectancy; disease can be a constant threat. Of course I believe you also have a friend due to be a miner soon; such a dangerous profession. But as I said, the choice is yours."

I don't believe it. I do not believe it. In a matter of seconds he threatened everyone I love and made me a Capitol whore. After all I did to save Prim it still isn't enough. Sex on command with total strangers or else. No, worse than strangers; at least normally strangers are people. These are Capitol freaks. I've seen the regular citizens here; what sort of abomination do you have to be to enjoy forcing girls to have sex with you?

And the most amazing part is the man delivered this without the tiniest hint of emotion of any sort. He isn't angry that we caused whatever trouble it is we caused, he isn't gloating that has us like puppets on his string, he doesn't show a thing. He doesn't even most a muscle besides the absolute minimum needed. The entire time his posture has been perfectly straight, the muscles to move his jaw barely twitch when he speaks, just enough to form words, even his eyes are perfectly efficient; his gaze never strays or wanders, it's always on his target; I don't think he even blinks without planning it. I have never before encountered such a perfectly controlled predator.

"But it would be cruel to expect an answer now." He continues. "Please, by all means, take your time, think it over, consider everything I have said carefully. In six month's time the Victory Tour will begin, and you will each have an opportunity to speak at every District. It is a rare privilege to speak to all the citizens of Panem; I suggest you not waste it. Afterwards you will be welcomed here in the Capitol for a celebration of your achievements in the Games, the reading of the card for the Quarter Quell and that night the celebrations will culminate with your first opportunity to take advantage of an appointment. So do give it your full consideration, and enjoy all the fruits of your victory, and of course. please have a pleasant trip home."

Just like that it's over and we're dismissed. It's every bit the horror Haymitch hinted it would be. I knew the Capitol was bad, but never anything like this. Glimmer and I get up and leave the office. Haymitch is waiting for us outside. He simply looks at us and heads off motioning to follow. I want to yell at him, to scream. How could he let us walk into that? How could anyone let Panem exist if it's really like this? I want to repeat every rant Gale has ever gone on. But I don't; I somehow just can't form the words to start. I can't form any words at all. None of us can. So we walk in silence.

We finally exit onto the street, just a few blocks from the train station. Now that we're out in the sun, Haymitch finally breaks the silence. "Look, I know that sucked. I know you're probably pissed at me, feeling blindsided and all that shit. But if I'd told you in advance your reactions wouldn't have been genuine, and Snow would notice that. If that happened you'd be in much deeper shit than you are now."

"Oh, so we should be glad we're Capitol whores?" Glimmer snaps.

"No, you shouldn't. But Snow threatened. He could have demonstrated."

"So what are we supposed to do?" I ask.

"Nothing." He responds.

"Nothing?" I repeat.

"Yes, nothing. There's nothing you can do. I know, shit sucks, but there's no alternative right now."

"So we just spread our legs on command?" Glimmer says it faster and more colorfully than I can.

"Unless you're willing to live with the consequences, then yeah princess, that's exactly what you do. But don't think for a second he's bluffing or will hesitate. He'll kill the fuck out of people and not even blink an eye."

I'd love to hear Haymitch come up with some exception or weird strategy to get out of this; I'd love Glimmer to charm her way out of this; I'd love to just find some way to run away from all our problems, but none of that happens. Instead we reach the train station and the two trains, waiting to take Glimmer and I back to our homes. Next to one of them is Cashmere, making a show of looking impatient.

I swear I see Glimmer tense at the sight of her mentor for a fraction of a second before turning to me. "Well looks like this is goodbye, for a while at least."

"Yeah." I agree.

Glimmer hugs me. "Seem like we're a team longer than either of us expected. We won the Games, we'll get through this too."

"Yeah, as long as we aren't alone we'll survive somehow." I don't really believe it; I don't think Glimmer does either. There's no reason for hope; no reason to believe it'll be ok. But it's not the time or the place to say it. "I'm glad we met and became friends, Glimmer. I really am."

"Yeah, me too." she agrees. "You take care of yourself in 12. I'll call as soon as it's safe, ok?"

I nod and with a final embrace we part ways, Glimmer to her mentor and train, Haymitch and I to our train. I stop at the door to our train and take one last look back. I see Glimmer and Cashmere talking. They're too far for me to make out anything said, but I can read body language. Whatever it is, it's not nice; Glimmer's entire body is tense, and the way her fist clenches I know she's holding back from starting a fight on the spot. Glimmer's a Victor and not a girl to be trifled with, but all mentors are Victors as well. Glimmer manages to hold her temper, but if she had a knife I don't think restraint would have carried the day.

"Hey, sweetheart!" Haymitch calls from inside the train. "You coming?"

"Yeah, I'm coming." I take one last glance at the train to 1 and see Glimmer looking back at me. We trade final waves and then climb aboard our respective trains. Within moments the train pulls out of the station and accelerates towards home. I don't bother to look out any windows. All I'd see is the Capitol in the distance, and even though I know I won't get my way, I never want to see that place again.

I make my way to the dining car; no need to go hungry after all, not now, not ever again. That at least is one positive out of all of this: my family will be better off than they ever have been before. They can be happy, healthy, and in blissful ignorance of the constant threat to their lives; that's something I'll handle alone.

By the time I reach the dining car the train is underground, passing through the tunnel under the mountains protecting the Capitol. I try not to let it show, but Haymitch picks up on my discomfort. "What's the matter, sweetheart? You're going home. You should be happier."

"I don't like being underground." I answer simply, picking food from the menu.

"Ah, that's right. Your dad wasn't it?" I simply nod.

We don't really talk the rest of the trip; Haymitch is more interested in drinking and I don't much want to talk anyway. The train ride home seems to take far longer than it did to get to the Capitol. It's funny, I didn't want to get there so of course it flew by, but now I actually want this ride over so it refuses to cooperate. But no matter how slow it seems, eventually the scenery blurring by out the window changes to the familiar forest near District 12.

The train pulls into the station in District 12 and I step onto the platform. A crowd is waiting for me and applauds, like so many others have these past several days. But unlike those other crowds this one actually has people I know. My mother, Madge, Gale, the Hawthornes, and running to huge me, my dear sister Prim. I bend down and wrap my arms around her.

"Katniss… You really did it. You made it home!" she weeps into my shoulder.

"Of course, little duck. I promised, didn't I?"

I stand back up, still keeping one arm around Prim and right away Gale is there, hugging me firmly. "Welcome home, Catnip." He's right. I am home.

**Author's Notes:**

Well that brings us to the end of this story. I hope everyone enjoyed it and would like to thank all that read it and particularly everyone who reviewed. I enjoyed reading each and every one of them, and I'd love to read more if anyone has anything to say. I know Glimmer/Katniss is a very small niche and I'm delighted so many people took the time to read such a narrowly targeted fic. Thank you all so much.

Now, a few chapters back I asked if there was interest in a sequel and I got a lot more people saying they wanted one than I expected. After all, Glimmer's one of the least used characters in Hunger Games and I took her and basically made the entire story dependent on if she worked or not. But it seems people liked the results and asked for a sequel, so I will deliver. Some people had a lot to say about what they wanted in a sequel, some quite close to what I was thinking even, but all interesting to read.

So, next week when I'd regularly update this story I will be posting chapter 1 of the sequel: Everyone Loves a Victor. I hope it lives up to all your expectations and everyone takes a look.

One more time I'd like to thank Pinklove21 for all her help (the early chapters especially really benefited from it) and my friend JB who helped me nail down a few very important details and smooth over a few rough edges. If there's any final comments or reviews I'd love to hear them. Thanks for reading!


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